Artist Mark Chen To Discuss ‘Pilgrimage Of Light’ Exhibition At Wright Gallery On Thursday
Artist Mark Chen will discuss his work on the closing day of his exhibition that explores landscapes and galaxies at Wright Gallery in the Langford Architecture Center, Building A.
The artist talk is March 6 at 3:30 p.m., followed by a closing reception.
Hosted by the Texas A&M College of Performance, Visualization and Fine Arts and the College of Architecture, “Pilgrimage of Light” features a collection of photographs with images of space projected onto remote landscapes in national parks by Chen, a photographer based in Missouri City, Texas.
In order to contrast images of galaxies or nebulae onto the landscape, Chen collected the images from a NASA archive. He projected the images using a modified film camera with a powerful flash that could illuminate 1,000-foot-wide images. He used a digital camera to capture the landscape overlaid with each projection.
“The pairings of the celestial and terrestrial objects are based on matching distance in light years of the former and age in years of the latter,” Chen said.
Chen projected NASA images on several terrains including South Rim of Grand Canyon, Hoodoos of Bryce Canyon and the Half Dome at Yosemite National Park.
“I hope people walk away from my show with a sense of wonder,” Chen said. “One which requires us to be lifted off the context of everyday chores. In an institution such as Texas A&M, I wish to light some sparks in the young mind, that some of them might one day explore these mysteries, pushing the boundary of our understanding of the universe.”
Rebecca Pugh, instructional assistant professor and Wright Gallery curator, said the gallery’s curatorial committee was eager to showcase Chen, especially while his work is featured in the March 2025 issue of National Geographic.
“Mark has a unique process involving traveling to remote landscapes in national parks, setting up and capturing novel projections of imagery from space organizations such as NASA on the land,” Pugh said. “His work connects to the College of Performance, Visualization and Fine Art’s emphasis on art and science.”
