Desert Radiance illuminates Greater Scottsdale, Fall 2016

Published: 21st September 2015

3 October 2015 through May 2016

In 2015, Munro will unveil a series of light-based installations across the greater Scottsdale area (Arizona)

Munro’s work is the subject of an unprecedented cultural collaboration entitled Desert Radiance, which has allowed him opportunity to experiment in scales and environments, from land mass to water, and the domestic to the panoramic. The Desert Radiance collaborators include some of the greater Phoenix area’s principle arts organizations including Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art, Scottsdale Public Art, Desert Botanical Gardens and Lisa Sette Gallery.

With these four distinct exhibition, “Desert Radiance” marks the first time Munro will have multiple installations within just a short drive of one another.

SCOTTSDALE MUSEUM OF CONTEMPORARY ART

The first exhibit in the “Desert Radiance” series will open at Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art (SMoCA) on Oct. 3. “Ferryman’s Crossing” showcases artwork inspired by Herman Hesse’s novel, “Siddhartha,” a story of one man’s spiritual journey. For the artwork, Munro transcribed a passage from the book into Morse-code. Gentle pulses of light shimmer across the reflective surface of ordinary recycled compact discs, evoking sunlight bouncing off the surface of flowing water.

  • Exhibit dates: Oct. 3, 2015 – April 24, 2016
  • Admission: $7 for adults; $5 for students; free for children 15 and under; free all-day Thursdays, and Fridays and Saturdays after 5:00 p.m.

SCOTTSDALE PUBLIC ART

Partnering with Scottsdale Public Art, Munro will bring Blooms to the Arizona Canal in November. Seven circular platforms, each carrying 100, 10-foot fiber optic fishing rods, will float along the surface of the canal. The fishing rods in the installation reference the eco-system of the Arizona Canal, which is populated by White Amur fish that can be caught and released. The installation will remain on view during Scottsdale Public Art’s Canal Convergence event, a festival of large-scale and interactive temporary public artworks, running Feb. 25-28, 2016.

  •  Exhibit dates: November 2015 – March 2016
  • Admission: Free

DESERT BOTANICAL GARDEN

Starting November 22, head further south to Desert Botanical Garden to see eight of Munro’s site-specific installations during “Bruce Munro: Sonoran Light at Desert Botanical Garden.” Some of the artworks exhibited reflect Munro’s unique interpretation of the flora and fauna found in the Sonoran Desert landscape. Highlights include Water Towers, 69 individual towers staggered among the Garden’s iconic saguaros, and “Field of Light,” more than 30,000 individual spheres that will delineate the land mass of Papago Butte. Also be sure to stop by the Garden’s Sybil B. Harrington Succulent Gallery to get a firsthand look at Chindi, which in Navajo means dust devil. Chindi, is comprised of three prismatic spirals suspended by Munro.

  • Exhibit Dates: Nov. 22, 2015 – May 8, 2016
  • Night admission: $25 for adults; $12.50 for children ages 3-12; free for children 3 and under
  • Day and night admission: $30 for adults; $15 for children ages 3-12; free for children 3 and under

LISA SETTE GALLERY

Desert Radiance continues with Bruce Munro at the Lisa Sette Gallery, where Munro will present a range of new small-scale works, including digital light projections and suspended artworks.  This is the first gallery showing of pieces from the artist’s “Language and LIght” series, which incorporates light translated into Morse code. It includes Ferryman’s Crossing II, a digital-light variation of Munro’s artwork at SMoCA, which continues Munro’s investigation into Hesse’s work. Also on display, Eden Blooms a suspended sculpture that’s a smaller-scale version of one of Munro’s pieces at Desert Botanical Garden. Catch a glimpse of Restless Fakir, which references Munro’s childhood in England, viewing an exotic world via television.

  • Exhibit Dates: November 7, 2015 – Jan. 2, 2016
  • Admission: Free

Media contacts for Desert Radiance:

http://www.experiencescottsdale.com/event/scottsdale-desert-radiance-2/

For information on Scottsdale:

Megan Neighbor, Director of Communications

Stephanie Pressler, Communications Manager

For information on Bruce Munro Studio:

Rebecca Christgau, Studio Manager

Jennifer Lewis, US Representative

For information on Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art and Scottsdale Public Art:

Alexa Ablondi, Public Relations Representative

For information on Desert Botanical Garden:

John Sallot, Director of Marketing

Bitsy Susich, Media Liaison

For information on Lisa Sette Gallery:

Ashley Rice, Associate Director

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