London Tsai, “Thermopylae,” 2021, 108 x 72 x 72 in (left) Wen-Ying Tsai, “Multi-chromics,” 1971, 36 x 36 in (right)

The exhibition Illuminations features “Tsaibernetic” sculptures by artist London Tsai and 2D work by his late father, cybernetic sculptor Wen-Ying Tsai. In Illuminations, London explores how an art process is passed down through generations. He embodies not only the physical process of making that captivated his father, but a manifestation of his father’s aura, as London establishes his own voice in cybernetic sculptures. 

 London explains “My sculpture practice continues my father’s tradition of making work by hand and vigorously eschews the labor of others to fabricate art objects. Whereas my father’s sculptures aspired to a modern industrial look, mine are unabashedly hand-made–their surfaces retaining the marks of my hammering and welding.”

Illuminations offers a glimpse into London Tsai’s journey, informed by his experience growing up immersed in the New York art scene of the 70s and 80s, and his father’s art practice, Wen-Ying Tsai, pioneer of cybernetic art. Both embrace a fascination with technology in relation to cultural production and serious play within their work. 

Wen-Ying Tsai (1928–2013) was an American sculptor and artist best known for creating sculptures using electric motors, stainless steel rods, stroboscopic light, and audio feedback control. Wen-Ying Tsai was born in Xiamen, China and emigrated to the United States in 1950, where he attended the University of Michigan, receiving a B.S.M.E. in 1953. He moved to New York City after graduation and embarked on a successful career as an architectural engineer.

In 1963, Tsai won a John Hay Whitney Fellowship for Painting, after which he decided to leave engineering and devote himself full-time to the arts. In the following decade, Tsai created his seminal cybernetic works, which he continued to develop in myriad directions until his passing.

London Tsai (b. 1970) is an American artist known for mathematically-inspired paintings and sculptures, the latter composed of shaped and welded aluminum sheet, TIG-welded tubular structures, and since 2017, as an extension of his father’s practice, digitally-controlled motors, LED strobe lights, and arduino-controlled feedback systems. London Tsai was born in Cambridge, MA and grew up in Paris and New York. He received his BS in math from Tufts University and his MA from the University of Pittsburgh.