Luceo
Artist: Nicole Chesney (American, Born 1971)
Date: 2019
Dimensions:
48 × 96 × 1 in. (121.9 × 243.8 × 2.5 cm)
Medium: Oil painting on acid etched and mirrored glass
Classification: Glass
Credit Line: Gift of Joseph A. Chazan, MD in honor of Victoria Veh
Object number: 2020.41
Label Text:"Warm breath on cool glass, the play of cast shadows and light on a wall, falling feathers, a whisper—mysterious, gentle signs of life that invoke visceral, emotive responses. I imbue my paintings with their own distinct vitality similar to these subtle, often unnoticed whispers."
— Nicole Chesney
Created from layers of oil paint on etched, mirrored glass, Nicole Chesney’s multi-paneled painting is like a mysterious and constantly changing landscape. Chesney’s work explores the relationship between light and space and between perception and imagination. As a mirror beckons the viewer’s lingering gaze, Chesney’s cloud-like surface draws our attention to the enigmatic surface, offering a dreamlike space for intense observation or quiet contemplation. Her work is inspired by the subtle marks made by abstract painter Agnes Martin (1912–2004), the harmonious quality of light created by James Abbott McNeil Whistler (1834–1903), and the stunning fields of color found in Mark Rothko’s (1903–1970) paintings.
Luceo, meaning bright star or light, was commissioned especially for the Toledo Museum of Art. For this painting, Chesney experimented for the first time with stacking and layering glass panels rather than displaying them side by side.
— Nicole Chesney
Created from layers of oil paint on etched, mirrored glass, Nicole Chesney’s multi-paneled painting is like a mysterious and constantly changing landscape. Chesney’s work explores the relationship between light and space and between perception and imagination. As a mirror beckons the viewer’s lingering gaze, Chesney’s cloud-like surface draws our attention to the enigmatic surface, offering a dreamlike space for intense observation or quiet contemplation. Her work is inspired by the subtle marks made by abstract painter Agnes Martin (1912–2004), the harmonious quality of light created by James Abbott McNeil Whistler (1834–1903), and the stunning fields of color found in Mark Rothko’s (1903–1970) paintings.
Luceo, meaning bright star or light, was commissioned especially for the Toledo Museum of Art. For this painting, Chesney experimented for the first time with stacking and layering glass panels rather than displaying them side by side.
DescriptionWhite oil-paint on mirrored and etched plate glass in three panels
Not on view