Regina Silveira: Quimera

Alder & Co., 222 Main Street, Germantown NY 12526

Hours: Friday – Sunday 11:00 AM – 6:00 PM

Quimera is described by the artist as a “visual paradox” in that the illusion of a single lit lightbulb casts a dark, looming shadow, instead of illuminating the space with light. For decades, Silveira has explored skiagraphia (the study of light and shadows) in her multidisciplinary practice. In many works, shadows are elongated and distorted, subverting their original reference points, and encouraging subversive interpretations. In Quimera, the uncanny paradox is illustrated through the impossible shadow of the lightbulb. The single, dangling lightbulb invites associations with the darkened interrogation room or perhaps even a torture chamber, alluding to the sense of foreboding in these spaces. Perception, for Silveira, is a malleable playing field, in which the artist’s imagination plays a critical role. In Quimera, light and darkness are simultaneously complementary and contradictory, destabilizing the viewer’s sense of space.