New York City Ballet Art Series Presents DRIFT’s ‘Shylight’

DRIFT’s “Shylight” (development 2006–2014), aluminum, polished stainless steel, silk, LEDs, robotics. On view at three special NYC Ballet Art Series performances in January and February 2023. All photos by Ossip van Duivenbode

Dutch artists Lonneke Gordijn and Ralph Nauta are DRIFT, a multidisciplinary group that creates experiential sculptures, installations, and performances, uniting audiences with moments that inspire a reconnection to our planet.

For New York City Ballet’s Art Series 2023, the duo curates their “Shylight” installation into a site-specific, performative sculpture, merging the movement of industrial motors with silk, multi-layered chalice-like structures. The pieces move with the grace of a dancer into a natural choreography, manifesting live emotion and personality in an inanimate material. With custom choreography supervised by the artists themselves, the works’ unpredictable, natural-looking movements become an object that feels alive as it descends to blossom in all its glorious beauty, before closing and retreating upward again.

The installation will be on view at three special NYC Ballet Art Series performances on January 27, February 3, and February 9, and all tickets are $38.

Performances are on sale now at nycballet.com/artseries.

A photo of light sculpture

Do stories and artists like this matter to you? Become a Colossal Member today and support independent arts publishing for as little as $5 per month. The article New York City Ballet Art Series Presents DRIFT’s ‘Shylight’ appeared first on Colossal.