June 16 - August 4, 2024

Curated by Michelle Szabo
Opening reception, Sunday, June 23, 2024, 3-5pm

As I was thinking about this exhibit and ECOCA's overarching focus on environmental impact this year, I started thinking about a less talked-about pollution that we humans produce called light pollution. Light brings us many things including the ability to see color, color being the reflection of light. If there is little light, or extreme bright light, we see less saturation of color or more brightness of color until it becomes either black or white, respectively.

But artificial light can wreak havoc on many living creatures by disrupting natural light/dark cycles and circadian rhythms. In animals, this can be disruptive to their instinctual behaviors and physical well-being (e.g., migratory patterns, breeding, growth, sight, nighttime sanctuaries). In humans, it can lead to psychological and physical disorders that can be life-threatening (e.g., sleep disorders, depression, heart disease, cancer).

As you look through the images in this exhibition and their minimal or no use of color, think about how we need light to perceive color. You can even do a simple test by turning down the brightness of your computer monitor and noticing how much color is lost in an image.

Do the images below speak to you despite using little or no color? In the same way that we can get by with less color in art, can we get by with less artificial light in our environments, particularly during our naturally darker hours? By reducing light pollution, we can help ourselves and other living creatures return to their natural rhythms and live healthier lives.

Featured Artists

Katherine Akey, California
Natale Adgnot, New York
Leora Armstrong, Connecticut
Hilary Bachelder, New York
Jean Benoit, Connecticut
Kraig Binkowski, Connecticut
Meg Bloom, Connecticut
Marissa Bridge, New York
Janine Brown, Connecticut
Molly Burt-Westvig, Pennsylvania
Jennifer Cadoff, Connecticut
Sharon Cheuk Wun Lee, New York
Cullen Curtis, Missouri
Kathleen DeMeo, Connecticut
Zach Dunn, Connecticut
ERMAN, Florida
William Evertson, Connecticut
Jessica Fallis, Connecticut
Melissa Fournier, Connecticut
Alcy Hart, Connecticut

Leslie Landau, Connecticut
Maureen Murray, Rhode Island
OK Labs, New York
Barin Osho, Ontario, Canada
Qarthian, Oregon
Lily Prince, Tennessee
Daria Rozina, Tel-Aviv Jaffa, Israel
Jocelyn Russell, New York
Sheila Squillante, Pennsylvania
Heather Stoltz, New York
Lynn Sullivan , Connecticut
Wayne Toepp, New York
Ryan Van Der Hout, New York
Madeline Veira, Pennsylvania
Almudena Fernandez Vicens, Connecticut
Jayoung Yoon, New York
Amo Zhou, New York