Hap Tivey, a pioneer of the Southern California Light and Space Movement of the 60s and 70s, makes a bold change in contemporary light sculpture in this groundbreaking exhibition, Surface of Light. Tivey explores the balance between the perception of material elements and pure light, while elegantly suggesting through his designs that sculpture in its entirety is in fact a surface of light.

In this exhibition, Tivey moves away from fabric screen projections, using instead wall-mounted metal constructions that elicit a raw and powerful presence. During his distinguished career, Tivey has pursued the physical experience of light and the emotional and theoretical significance light holds for the human condition. Inspired by light as a viewer dependent medium, he presents conditions or situations of light in the hope that the audience might engage with the work as an experience. Challenging the viewer to look at the world differently, Tivey encourages them to interpret the sculpture practically as well as aesthetically.

In Surface of Light, Tivey once again reinvents himself while maintaining the dynamic element that has characterized his work over the past three decades.

Hap Tivey has been represented by Elizabeth Leach Gallery since 1981. His work is included in numerous public and private collections including the Menil Collection (Houston, Texas), The DIA Foundation (New York, New York), The Guggenheim Museum (New York, New York and Bilbao, Spain), the Museum of Modern Art (New York, New York), and P.S.1 (Queens, New York). Currently, he is a member of the faculty at Bard College (Annandale-on-Hudson, New York).