Light as Art: When Illumination Becomes the Medium

In the realm of public art, light has evolved beyond its functional role of simply illuminating space—it has become a luminous, transformational medium in its own right. The interplay of luminescent glow and shadow, the rhythm of light pulsing in interactive response, the magical moment when daylight fades and a work emerges from the darkness: these are the hallmarks of artworks that treat light not as an after-thought but as the material itself. Featuring five recent installations, this article examines how artists are harnessing light to shape experience, place, and meaning in public contexts.

Cyclicality, Sioux Falls, SD

Uploaded by Jen Lewin Studio

Cyclicality is composed of eleven towering dichroic, infinity-mirrored prisms (ranging from 11 to 21 feet tall) sited at the Washington Pavilion in Sioux Falls. By day, these crystalline forms capture and reflect sunlight and the surrounding landscape. By night, they transform into immersive displays of vibrant, interactive color—and invite engagement via pedestals that shift palette, rhythm and animation speed.  

Here, light is both mirror and medium: the prisms reflect real daylight and cast dynamic shadows, then at dusk become canvases for color and motion. The artwork makes visible the cycles of natural change—geologic, temporal, human—and invites viewers to participate in that flux.

PULSE, Dublin, Ireland

By Alva Gallagher

Located at Dublin Docklands (City Quay), Pulse is an immersive public sculpture constructed with a suspended mesh canopy laced with over 20,000 programmable LEDs.  Pulse absorbs the viewer in a collaborative space of ever-moving constellations.  As the viewer is immersed in the sculpture’s expanse, the sensory motion of the body triggers a motion response and a pulse of light washes through the piece wrapping the viewer beneath a wave or color and light.

In Pulse, light becomes both responsive and poetic, and the space becomes a luminous cocoon of interaction, memory and motion—where light itself bears meaning.

Radiant, Traveling Installation

Produced by Creos

Radiant is described as a “breathtaking 3D volumetric installation” where luminous organic forms and ever-changing vibrant colors reshape space itself.  With configurations such as a half-moon curve, a snake-like pathway or a straight tunnel, the work invites immersion: light and sound mesh into a rhythmic, infinite feeling.

Here, light is not simply projected—it becomes architecture, pathway, enveloping experience. Visitors don’t just look at the art—they move through it, becoming part of the glowing form. The magical interplay of light, form, and sound creates what could only be called a sculptural luminescence.

Jellyfish Shrub, Taipei, Taiwan

By STRUZIK ART LTD

Installed on the campus of Academia Sinica in Taiwan, Jellyfish Shrub uses stainless steel and a dynamic RGB lighting system to metamorphose at dusk into a surreal landmark of light.  The sculpture cross-references both flora and the sea, oxygen and photosynthesis, architecture and biomimicry.

In this work, the luminous medium bridges natural and artificial: the light system transforms the structure into something ambient, magical. Light and shadow become part of the design, changing the sculpture’s character as day turns to night. 

Reaching, Leawood, Kansas

by Curious Form

Commissioned for the City of Leawood (Kansas)’s 75th anniversary, Reaching abstractly references an olive tree of its sister-city region in Israel. Its twisting aluminum branches culminate in illuminated tips that “reach” upward, embedded into a limestone base.  

Here, light is used as gesture: the glowing branch tips extend upward, upward toward hope, connection, renewal. In design and execution, this sculpture transforms ordinary public space into a place of quiet ritual illuminated by light and meaning.

For public art commissioners, urban planners and artists alike, these five installations offer inspiring lessons: treat light not as halo, but as material; design for both day and night; build interaction and invite transformation. When you do, the resulting works don’t just occupy space—they illuminate experience.