ARTIFICIAL ILLUMINATIONS

The photographs of Olivo Barbieri depict nocturnal urban landscapes that are saturated in color, dominated by architecture, punctuated by street and business signs, and bisected by streaks of light from cars and trains. Bursting with evidence of human activity, Barbieri's cities seem nevertheless devoid of life. Whether in Italy, Hong Kong, or Japan, he creates a world free of darkness, in which light, rather than simply revealing a scene, becomes a tangible part of it. Accompanied by an essay that discusses Barbieri's techniques and explores the implications of a light-filled nighttime landscape, the images in this collection resonate with dreamlike potency.