James Clar: Powers of Ten

Saturday, January 11–Sunday, March 30, 2025

Guest curated by Larissa Kolesnikova, Powers of Ten is the first U.S. solo museum exhibition by light and media artist James Clar. Also marking his Los Angeles debut, this mid-career retrospective brings together a selection of works from 2011 to 2024, highlighting Clar’s mastery of video and light systems to examine how technology informs our perception of the natural world. These explorations are grounded in Clar’s film background and his deep appreciation of the California Light and Space movement. The exhibition features works created during Clar’s time living in Dubai, New York, Tokyo, and his current residency in Manila, as well as work made in Los Angeles specifically for this exhibition. 

The exhibition’s title, Powers of Ten, references the groundbreaking 1977 short film by Charles and Ray Eames, which explored the relationship between scale and reality using cutting-edge technology of the time. This question is at the heart of Clar’s practice: How do we quantify reality, and how does technology shape our experience of it? 

Alongside earlier technology based works, Clar will exhibit new cyanotype works created through the first-ever collaboration between the Eames Foundation and a contemporary artist, celebrating the 75th anniversary of the Eames House. On site at the house, Clar produced a series of banners with light filtered through the studio windows; the cyanotype technique offered an ideal medium to capture the essence and spirit of the house—a place where Charles and Ray lived and created. The colors and movements captured on the cyanotypes vary based on exposure length and weather conditions, creating a harmonious process integrated with the natural surroundings and the house itself, echoing the Eames’ work/play philosophy.

Reflecting on this landmark project, Eames Foundation executive director Lucia Atwood shares, "James’s technology based work felt particularly appropriate for our first contemporary artist collaboration, given an underlying joy shared with Charles and Ray’s media explorations. Here at Eames House, he chose to use natural light to create cyanotypes looking out the steel mullions of the windows, to capture an impressionistic spirit of place.” 

 

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ABOUT THE ARTIST

James Clar (b. 1979, Wisconsin, USA; lives and works in Manila, Philippines) is a light and media artist interested in new technological production processes and their application to artistic narrative forms. His works use the information systems that saturate our daily existence, provoking contemplation on how they shape our understanding of culture and ourselves. By understanding light and the ways we see, his artistic lens explores the modulating effects of perception and narrative dynamics.

Clar has been an artist in residence at Eyebeam Atelier in New York, Fabrica in Italy, and the FedEx Institute of Technology/Lantana Projects in Memphis. His artwork has been included in exhibitions at the Cantor Arts Center (Stanford, California), Asia Society Texas (Houston), Glucksman Museum (Dublin), New Museum of Contemporary Art (New York), Pera Museum (Istanbul), Can Framis Museum (Barcelona), MACBA (Barcelona), and SeMA (Seoul). He has been commissioned to develop large-scale installations for the Ayala Museum (Manila),  21c Museum Hotels (Oklahoma), Parasol Unit Foundation for the Arts (United Kingdom), and Fraport Headquarters (Frankfurt).

ABOUT THE CURATOR

Larissa Kolesnikova (b.1974, Russia; lives and works in Malibu, California) is an independent curator and art advisor with a passion for bringing underrepresented voices into the art communities she serves. Her curatorial work is driven by a commitment to supporting institutions in need of greater visibility and resources, often through fostering interinstitutional collaborations. 

During her time in the United Arab Emirates, she founded a pioneering art consulting firm that developed and implemented significant cultural projects for Abu Dhabi’s leadership and local institutions. She was part of the UAE’s inaugural delegation to the 2009 Venice Biennale. Since 2015 she has served as global advisor to the board at Hawai’i Contemporary. Kolesnikova is a former strategic advisor to the ALESCO ambassador on cultural matters. As an art advisor, she champions intentional collecting through her Malibu Art Collectors Club, which encourages diversity and community engagement. Kolesnikova's curatorial projects include Back to the Future, Studiospace Lange Straße 31, Frankfurt (2023); Carrom Station, Jane Lombard Gallery, New York (2017); Blackout, Pavilion Downtown Dubai (2012); UberConstruction, Pavilion Downtown Dubai (2012); and Fatamorgana, Goethe-Institute Middle East, XVA Gallery, Dubai (2011).

 

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James Clar: Powers of Ten is guest curated by Larissa Kolesnikova and organized by the Frederick R. Weisman Museum of Art in collaboration with Beyond Art. Generous support is provided by Jane Lombard Gallery, with special thanks to the Eames Foundation and Silverlens Gallery.

Image: James Clar, installation view of Sensor Calibration (Color Checker Chart), 2023, LED lights, filters, lasercut aluminum, 35 7/16 x 23 40/64 in. Image courtesy of the artist. © 2024 James Clar