Gisela Colón (b. 1966) is a contemporary Puerto Rican-American artist based in Los Angeles. An artistic descendent of the California Light and Space movement, Colón constructs abstract, luminescent sculptures that engage art and science. For over a decade, Colón has been experimenting with engineered materials such as molded, layered, and laminated plastics and carbon fiber to create sculptures with ever-changing colors that are activated by light.

In constructing her kaleidoscopic objects, the artist has collaborated with partners in the aerospace and scientific communities, finding new applications for industrial materials and developing her own substances, while drawing from her training as a painter. When Colón first turned to plastics, she found inspiration within the Los Angeles artist community, particularly in mentorship from Light and Space artist De Wain Valentine. Through her years of experimentation and sourcing novel materials, Colón developed her own contribution to the legacy of plastics in Los Angeles, which dates back to the 1960s.

This exhibition presents a primer on Colón’s work, with seven large-scale sculptures, including her bulbous, amoeba-shaped “Pods,” filled with layers of brilliant, fluorescent colors that shift with the light and glow from within. The show will also include her large-scale, freestanding “Monoliths,” cast in plastic with swirling constellations of iridescent pigments that change colors, from deep green and fuchsia to gold, as visitors move around the artworks. A striking, visual experience, Colón’s sculptures engage universal forms, taking the shape of totems or obelisks, while also referencing the artist’s specific connections to the earth, from the mountains of her childhood in Puerto Rico to the landscape of her home in California.

Gisela Colón: Radiant Earth is organized by guest curator Dr. Danielle O’Steen.

Gisela Colón (American, b. Puerto Rico, b. 1966)
Plasmatic Rhomboid (Mercury), 2024
Blow-molded acrylic, 72 x 36 x 10 in (182.9 x 91.5 x 25.4 cm)
Courtesy of the Artist and Efraín López Gallery
©️Gisela Colón Studio

Gisela Colón (American, b. Puerto Rico, 1966)
Monolito Parabólico Clorofila (Bosque Tropical de El Yunque, Luquillo, Puerto Rico), 2024
Aurora particles, stardust, cosmic radiation, intergalactic matter, ionic waves,
organic carbamate, earth matter, gravity, energy, and time,
98.5 x 24 x 12 in (250.2 x 61 x 30.5 cm)
Courtesy of the Artist and Efraín López Gallery
©️Gisela Colón Studio