In a State of Light: Exploring New Territory with Digital Media

New media artist Morgan Barnard takes a playful, experimental approach to digital technology. His experiential, immersive works have been featured in museums, galleries, festivals, and public spaces such as airports and bridges. With a background in fine art, video production, and interactive design, Barnard brings a unique, multidisciplinary sensibility to his work. Over the past decade or so, he has focused on creating collaborative, large-scale pieces that visualize real time data from nature through lighting and projection.

In his Santa Fe, New Mexico studio, Light State Design, Barnard experiments with projection mapping, LED lighting, and software design. These experiments often lead into his solo and collaborative projects. Barnard often works with artists who are looking to integrate technology into their practice and develop new solutions for experiential artworks. Recent collaborations include Sky Column, a permanent sculpture featuring a wind-driven light installation in Arlington, Virginia with sculptor Doug Hollis; ReVOlution, large scale projection-mapping with multimedia artist Virgil Ortiz at the Colorado Springs Fine Art Center; and Biobridge, an interactive LED installation by Andrea Polli for Lights on Tampa.

Barnard’s most recent solo gallery show was at Pie Projects in Santa Fe. It featured his immersive projection installation Light State, an audio-reactive projection and LED sculpture entitled Cellular, and Barnard’s new explorations in plotter drawings, which combine watercolor painting and generative design. Other recent works are currently on display at Electric Playhouse in Albuquerque. In February of 2022, Barnard will be exhibiting a series of lumia-inspired light art boxes at Pie Projects.