Flat Torus 4

Artist Phillip K. Smith III (American, Born 1972)

Date2019

Dimensions70 × 70 × 3 1/2 in. (177.8 × 177.8 × 8.9 cm)

MediumAcrylic, plywood, LED lighting, electronic components, unique color program

ClassificationTime-Based Media

Credit LinePurchased with funds given by Richard and Dolly Flasck and with funds from the Florence Scott Libbey Bequest in Memory of her Father, Maurice A. Scott

Object number

2020.22

On View

Toledo Museum of Art (2445 Monroe Street), Gallery, 02A, Wolfe

Label TextIn Flat Torus 4, Philip K. Smith III painstakingly choreographed and digitally 'painted' his acrylic canvas, utilizing computer software to control color via LED lighting. The result is an intimate experience with light that is precisely paced and shifts before the viewer’s eye over time. Though his art has taken many forms, from installations and sculpture to architectural structures, light is a pervasive theme throughout his creative practice. An example of his dynamic light installations is Detroit Skybridge, installed between two skyscrapers in Detroit in 2018. Smith’s work raises compelling questions about the nature of craftsmanship and the artist's hand in the 21st-century digital age. Smith grew up in Southern California's Coachella Valley and derives inspiration for his light-based works from the desert landscape. His work reflects ideas about light and shadow, space and form, as well as color and the environment. Influenced by both his natural surroundings and his artistic predecessors in the West Coast-based Light and Space movement, including James Turrell, Smith is seen as a leader among a new and younger generation of artists who explore our relationship as humans to light.