LiIZ LIGUORI

Liguori (b. 1979) creates photographic, sculptural, and time-based work at the intersection of science and light. With process and experimentation as her touchstones, her work blends traditional methods of art-making with technologies, both new and antiquated.

Liguori invented a technique of “painting” with light and photochemistry and fabricated equipment to produce large-scale works spanning over ten feet. Liguori’s “light paintings” use a cameraless darkroom process in which she exposes photosensitive paper with a single-frequency light source. Liguori manually bends and manipulates the light, using modifiers—such as prisms, diffraction gratings, water, glass lenses, and even broken bits of vintage technology—to create compositions of chance and magic that explore the essence of the photographic medium in the manner of abstract expressionism. Each print records an ephemeral moment of light moving through space, revealing truths about nature often unseen by the human eye. 

Liguori started experimenting with hand-held light manipulation during her early career as a lighting designer in the NYC Nightlife scene. Her live, one-of-a-kind laser performances took the dance floor experience to a new immersive level. Her extensive background as a photographer, along with her academic pursuits in creative technologies, contribute to the distinct multi-disciplinary flavor of Liguori’s work. 

In a return to her nightlife roots, Liguori has recently integrated live performance into her “light painting” process, collaborating with musicians including Suso Saiz, Nathan Davis, and the International Contemporary Ensemble. Liguori’s most recent sculptural work utilizes a parabolic mirror outfitted with a sound induction system to translate audio frequencies (through water) into an optical waveform.

Liguori has shown in galleries across the United States, with recent solo exhibitions at Washington & Lee University’s Staniar Gallery in Lexington, Virginia; La MaMa Galleria in New York City; and Abakus Projects in Boston, MA. Liguori’s artwork is highlighted in the book The Mountain Lake Symposium and Workshop: Artists in Locale, to which she also contributed an essay on her process.

She holds an MFA in Creative Technologies from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University and a BA in Studio Art from Drew University.