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Light Sculptures Brighten TriBeCa Boutique

By Julie Shapiro | December 22, 2011 12:02pm

TRIBECA — On the darkest days of the year, a new art installation is glowing in the windows of one TriBeCa boutique.

The "Uros" light sculpture by Grimanesa Amorós features a series of LED-lit mounds designed to recall the legendary floating Uros Islands in Peru's Lake Titicaca.

Scattered like an archipelago across the floor of the Issey Miyake shop on Hudson Street, the lit domes range from miniscule to 26 inches in height, and they are draped in patterned drawings that provide texture.

Amorós, who grew up in Lima, Peru, said in a video interview on the store's blog that she has never seen sunrises and sunsets as dramatic as those on Lake Titicaca, which sits unusually high above sea level.

"The altitude makes [you] somehow see the lighting in a different way," Amorós said, adding that he tries to convey that "through the light in my latest work."

The installation is just one of several artworks Amorós recently created to capture the magic of the Uros Islands, which are built from floating reeds and have become a major tourist attraction in Peru, while also still serving as a home to many natives.

Earlier this year, Amorós' "The Uros House," a more vertical interpretation of the islands, was on display in Times Square as part of the Armory Show. One passerby even compared the stacked baubles to something Lady Gaga might wear.

Amorós said in the recent video interview on the TriBeCa exhibit that she considers her artwork successful if people can find something in it that interests them, whether they like the piece or not.

"It's impossible that everyone is going to like what you do," she said.

"But for me, it's important that there is a certain type of reaction. Either they love it or they hate it — but not to pass indifferent."