“Gisela Colon: Pods” Daum Museum Members’ Reception

An exhibit by Los Angeles-based artist Gisela Colon will open at 11 a.m. Sept. 29 at the Daum Museum of Contemporary Art on the State Fair Community College Sedalia campus. Colon will give an illustrated lecture at 6 p.m. Oct. 25 in the Stauffacher Theatre. Admission is free and open to the public. The exhibit will remain through Dec. 16.

Colon, well regarded for meticulously fabricated, glowing iridescent wall sculptures referred to as “pods,” will display 13 large-scale, three-dimensional objects that unify the genres of sculpture and painting. These non-representational objects, asymmetrical and biomorphic in shape with smooth surfaces, provide a perceptual experience of light, color and space.

The sculptures are formed from blow-molded acrylic plastic, laminated and layered with iridescent and fluorescent pigments. Colon’s processes produce changeable works that appear to emanate light and color from within. Her pods shift color before the viewer’s eyes depending on lighting conditions and viewing angle.

Colon’s work is similar with artists whose work is included in the Daum’s permanent collection – Laddy John Dill, Ralph Bacerra and Alex Couwenberg, all of whom ascribe to the California Light and Space and Finish Fetish movement. Their work will be displayed along with Colon’s to provide context for the appreciation of her sculptures. That exhibit is titled The LA Look: Selections from the Collection.

Colon, born in 1966 in Vancouver, British Columbia, grew up in Puerto Rico where she graduated from the University of Puerto Rico with a Bachelor of Arts in Economics. Later she moved to Los Angeles and received a Juris Doctor in Law from Southwestern University School. In 2005, she began to paint but in 2012 moved away from painting to sculpture. Her artwork is included in collections at Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Museum of Contemporary Art in San Diego, Palm Springs Art Museum, and Grand Rapids Museum of Art.

Gisela Colon: Pods is presented at the Daum with funding from the Missouri Arts Council, a state agency. Additional support comes from season underwriters Katherine A. Menefee and Barbara Schrader; and exhibition sponsors Mr. and Mrs. James O. Cooney, Steve Ellebracht, Joe Fischer and Gloria Angel, James and Martha Meyer, and Sylvia L. Thompson. All programs are supported by State Fair Community College and the members of Daum Museum of Contemporary Art.

Museum hours are 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Friday and 1 to 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. Admission is free. For more information, call (660) 530-5888 or visit the website at www.daummuseum.org.