ON VIEW SEPTEMBER 6, 2024 – JANUARY 4, 2025

CUNY art galleries present a new exhibition spread across three venues, tracing the motif of the chandelier in contemporary art, in all its bedazzling glory.

Works by 45 artists explore the motif and meaning of the chandelier through sculptural forms, photography, painting, drawing, installation and video. This stunning collaborative exhibition is spread across three CUNY venues. Curated by Bartholomew Bland, Patricia Cazorla, and Lisa Panzera.

The motif of the chandelier serves as a powerful vehicle for contemporary artists to provoke deeper questions about forms and concepts that both beguile and create friction. The fusion of historical associations with contemporary interpretations furthers a dialogue between past and present and exploits tensions between “high” and “low,” particularly through questions of taste. Many of the works included in this exhibition explore juxtapositions of luxury and oppression, consumerism and necessity, elitism and populism. The chandelier is used as a means of critique, while also celebrated as an object of desire, and can represent a metaphorical illumination of the dark corners of history or personal memories, or provide a means of shedding light on forgotten or suppressed narratives. 

Chandeliers first developed in the medieval period from candelabra into multi-branched light fixtures that hang from ceilings. They became increasingly opulent in the 18th century, featuring cascading strings of faceted glass and crystals which scattered light across the room. The elaborately decorated fixtures symbolized elegance and prestige and the extravagantly ornate examples that decorated palaces, ballrooms, and theaters, became synonymous with the wealth and sophistication of high society. Originally, they employed candles and with the progression to oil and then gas lamps and finally electric lights, chandeliers became more accessible in the 20^th century, increasingly appearing in public spaces and more modest homes and locations.

However, the chandelier retains an allure, not least due to its distinctive placement above viewers’ heads, a vantage point associated with both reverence and power. Both formally and symbolically, it has captured the imagination of contemporary artists who utilize its distinct form to explore myriad issues, from formal design elements to socio-political concerns. Using the chandelier, artists have investigated aspects of power, social hierarchy, and memory, and have reimagined it both conceptually and materially through various mediums, including painting, sculpture, installation, video, and photography.