colour ring 450d

The colour of an object appears to vary with the light conditions in which it is viewed, because the brightness and colour of light affect our visual perception. This interplay of light and colour is a central motif in painting. This sculpture, "Farbring 450d" (colour ring 450d), illustrates this question in a novel way, incorporating both elements, painting and light, into a single artwork.

The piece consists of a transparent acrylic ring, painted with stripes in various intensities and shades of red. There is an irregular sequence of painted stripes and clear areas on the outer surface. Inside, a lattice of delicate wires supports coloured LEDs that throw their light onto the inner side of the painted acrylic surface. The artificial light in turn acts upon the painting. The result is a constantly changing interplay of light and colour. Furthermore, the transparent shell serves as a type of membrane that absorbs and diffuses light, opening the artwork to the surrounding environment and taking up its light.

These changes occur imperceptibly, in a dialogue with Nature. The visibility of the pinkish glow of the LEDs waxes and wanes in inverse proportion to the ambient light. Almost invisible on a sunny day, a constellation of bright dots of pink light glitters at night, multiplied uncountably and unpredictably in the reflective acrylic surfaces. The physical ring becomes a stage-like space, playing host to an exploration of colour and time. Unlike traditional sculpture, the never-ending visual evolution of "colour ring 450d“ means that there is never a time at which the sculpture can be viewed in its entirety, as a completed, "finished“ work.

This fascination with colour, light, and space has been a constant in Rottenbacher’s career as an artist. She studied set design and lighting in New York and London and worked as a stage designer and in lighting design efore devoting herself entirely to the visual arts in 2004. After a series of smaller works, her more recent pieces have grown steadily larger and more spatially ambitious, seeking to engage not only viewers‘ eyes, but their entire bodies – much like a stage that opens a space for experience in every dimension.