Leo Villareal

Leo Villareal was raised in El Paso, Texas; and currently lives in New York. He earned a BA in sculpture from Yale University in 1990 and an MPS from Tisch School of the Arts’ Interactive Telecommunications Program at New York University in 1994.

For more than a decade, Villareal has been developing a unique body of work that integrates customized digital software with multicolored light. Most recently this has been in the form of LEDs fronted with a diffusion material. Conceptually, his work is inspired by complex mathematical theories, especially the idea that underlying structures and rules govern everything around us. For each artwork, he writes specific conditions and rules into the computer code and then lets the piece evolve visually within that established framework. This marriage of mathematical theory, digital technology, and visual art results in sumptuous kinetic light sculptures that undulate with a panoply of color patterns. The installations often seem to have a living quality—breathing, throbbing, and pulsating—creating an immersive sensory experience for the viewer.

Other site-specific installations created by Villareal include: Supercluster (2004), a massive 45-by-120-foot grid of six hundred and forty sequenced LED clusters covering the façade of the P.S. 1 Contemporary Art Center in Long Island City, New York; and Light Matrix for Albright-Knox (2005), a permanent LED installation for the Albright-Knox Art Gallery in Buffalo, New York. In addition to being a practicing visual artist and programmer, Villareal has also served as a curator, arranging numerous group shows for other artists.