Leo Villareal

(American, b. 1967)

Light Matrix (Houston), 2022

October 2022 – Ongoing

Light Matrix (Houston), a site-specific artwork by Leo Villareal, is composed of 3,960 individually-programmable, monochromatic LED nodes contained within 90 mirrored stainless steel rods. The patterns are sequenced using the artist’s custom software and evoke things one might see under a microscope or in the cosmos. Villareal’s abstract artwork uses a luminous field of floating particles to bring the building to life.

Firmly rooted in abstraction, Villareal’s approach uses layered sequencing that results in open-ended and subjective visual experiences. His works often reference organic systems and evoke—but do not illustrate—atmospheric elements in that emergent and unexpected behavior occurs without a predetermined outcome, as in Light Matrix (Houston). The artist is best known for his investigation of artificial space and for creating environments comprised of found objects, video, light, and sound. 

LOCATION

University of Houston

Tillman J. Fertitta Family College of Medicine

Friday Focus Tour: Leo Villareal's Light Matrix (Houston) and Building Tour with Mike Guidry

Friday, November 4th, 2022 | 12:00 – 1:00pm | Tour the new Tilman J. Fertitta Family College of Medicine building and explore Leo Villareal’s new light-based artwork Light Matrix (Houston) in the atrium.