The Exploratorium’s visitor-favorite GLOW: Discover the Art of Light is back in full swing in San Francisco. See brand new and expanded installations created by seven artists now through Jan. 28, 2024 at SF’s Exploratorium at Pier 15. If you haven’t visited yet, now’s the time to get tickets!
GLOW is a luminous expansion of the Exploratorium’s typical exhibits and a must during the holiday season in San Francisco. This year’s new artworks allow visitors to compose music with light, play experimental LED dungeon crawlers, discover hidden crystals, and much more. Access to the exhibition is included with museum admission.
The 2023-2024 exhibition presents 10 light artworks by 7 artists, ranging in size and scope. Here’s a quick rundown:
- Line Wobbler (Robin Baumgarten) – Control a green pixel as it moves along an LED strip, battling enemies, lava, and force fields.
- Quantum Jungle (Robin Baumgarten) – A mathematically accurate, large-size model of a quantum object where the LEDs light up according to where the object may be found.
- Flux (Collectif Scale) – A mesmerizing kinetic installation where 48 twirling bright white rods twist and coil to a synchronized score.
- Crystal Paintings (Maria Constanza Ferreira) – A display of synthetic crystals on glass slides encased in custom aluminum light boxes. Guests can use hand-held polarizing filters to reveal the hidden crystals.
- Glow Cinema (Maria Constanza Ferreira – An experimental animation comprising three short films that examine the self-generative properties of crystals.
- Museum of the Moon (Luke Jerram) – A large glowing moon sculpture modeled after NASA imagery to show every detail of the moon’s surface. The sculpture was created on a scale of about 1:700,000, so one centimeter equals about 7 kilometers (1 inch is about 11 miles). It’s a favorite from GLOW‘s last 2 renditions.
- Color Study (Chaco Kato) – An evolving installation in which morphing colors and patterns are projected onto a seemingly weightless surface created with thousands of pieces of string.
- Sound Sculpture (Masary Studios) – An interactive sound and light instrument comprised of large glowing cubes, which you can move around to create musical variations.
- CMY Shadows Mirror (Daniel Rozin) – A sculptural artwork produces full-color reflections of the viewer using the subtractive color model to filter out white light.
- RGB Lights Mirror (Daniel Rozin) – A sculptural artwork covered in rotating aluminum knobs that use the additive color model to produce pixelated images.
“At the Exploratorium, art and science intersect as essential ways we humans perceive and investigate our world,” said Allison Roach, Project Director of Temporary Exhibitions. “We’re thrilled to showcase this collection of work by seven artists who illuminate the power of light to connect, reveal and inspire, and offer special programs for kids and adults.”
Find the Exploratorium at Pier 15 on the Embarcadero in San Francisco.