LatchKey Gallery in collaboration with the LILAC Preservation Project is pleased to present Nocturnal Flora,a series of new light sculptures by George Kroenert created specifically for installation on the Museum Ship LILAC.
Nocturnal Florais a whimsical aesthetic engagement with the 1933 historic steam-operated vessel. For this exhibition, Kroenert creates a new series of light sculptures that speak to the historic ship. Upon boarding, Kroenert saturates the bow of the LILAC with vivid color and dancing light. Below deck, visitors are greeted with luminous bursts of color adorning every window portals. Each unique in color and shape, the pieces bring to mind the vivacity of newly bloomed flowers. In the main gallery you are immersed in a forest of light and color made up of miniature trees and floral-like shapes. A nocturnal forest, awakened by the glow of fluorescent lights radiating in hues of reds, blues and yellows. Each of Korner’s artworks play with light and space bathing the unique environment of the LILAC with an ecological collision of color.
Continuing the long-standing tradition of experimenting with materials outside the traditional art form, Kroenert’s light sculptures are bursts of energy made from LED lights and colorful zip ties. The artists botanical forms result in visual designs that evoke explosions of colors that illuminate their surrounding environment.
Nocturnal Florawill be on view from August 1stt hrough September 2018. The LILAC is located on Hudson River Park’s Pier 25 on West Street at N. Moore. The LILAC is open to the public on weekends from 2 – 6pm or by appointment by emailing info@latchkeygallery.com. Proceeds from the sale of artworks will be donated to LILAC’s restoration program and may be found on the gallery website or art.sy.______________________________________________________________
George Kroenert was born in Pennsylvania and now lives and works in New York City. He earned his MFA from Parsons School of Design in Lighting Design in 1997. Kroenert has exhibited extensively throughout the United States and has completed numerous site-specific installations here in New York including the Melissa-Galeria SOHO, Governors Island and Bloomingdales flagship store on 59th Street.
LILACis the last surviving steam-powered lighthouse tender in America and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Launched on May 26, 1933, she carried supplies to lighthouses and maintained buoys for the U.S. Lighthouse Service and then the U.S. Coast Guard until she was decommissioned in 1972. LILAC is currently being restored as a unique vehicle for maritime education and community activities and is berthed at Hudson River Park’s Pier 25 in New York City. The ship is open to the public from 2:00 to 6:00 PM on weekends and for special events through the summer. More information can be found at www.lilacpreservationproject.org.