curatorial
shows and their text
(Im)perceptible2025(Photos by McKenzie Fitz) The fear of what’s ahead may create a daunting and debilitating reality in our present minds where we lose parts of ourselves. There’s no denying that what is upon us is scary, but we must carry on and do what we can to support one another. It is a power greater than anything to love the earth, our people, and one’s self, because with love comes a great strength of joy. As long as love is prioritized, the pain of this moment won’t last forever.
This exhibition showcases the voices of the queers of right now, but we wouldn’t be here without the queers that came before us: queers who existed loudly in worlds that lacked any bit of mainstream appeal, and who fought for us to be here. To live authentically as one’s self is an act of defiance in the name of love that opposes the voices of bigotry. To live freely may fuel outrage in others who are unwilling to understand their own identity, but it is through this freedom that we make room for those who are ready to learn, and understand. This is the legacy of the queers, and like our elders, it is our duty to preserve this tradition for future generations. This show is dedicated to the femmes, butches, enbies, and every queer in between from every point in time, but especially those in the now. It is our time. Thank you.Artists featured: Tali Halpern, Yaelin Calages Kim, Samantha Reed, Kenzie Lipe, Victoria Hill, Samuel Schwindt, Yiwei Leo Wang, Zoelle Nagib, Emma Varano, McKenzie Fitz, Elizabeth Evans and Francis Karisny.
(Photos by McKenzie Fitz) My solo show. Featuring new, old, solo, and collaborative work. Artists featured: Tri, Destiny Ryan, Jazzy Okami, Zoelle Nagib.
Garden in Bloom: Nature Neon2025(Photos by McKenzie Fitz) As humans advance with theoretical concepts of capital gain, the wondrous natural world suffers from overconsumption. Many of us have lost our connection to the earth, our first Mother, and have lost our way from the roots that have provided us exponential growth as a species. The earth provides us with countless resources from the air we breathe to plants and animals we eat. Its significance is something we must be reminded of and not take for granted.
Often used to promote consumerism, neon calls upon one’s undivided attention and allures them into a reactionary response. Neon is rooted in a tradition of promotion, advertisement, and consumer culture, and we often forget the organic materials used to create it such as fire, breath, and glass.
Garden in Bloom: Nature Neon asks the viewer to see the inherent nature in neon while being reminded of our connection to greater ecosystems through the lustful allure of a city glow. From provocative eroticism such as an eagle's mating ritual seen in Emma Varano’s Release, to a butterfly’s journey of life found through Daniella Thach’s Butterfly Net; the observer is asked to consider how different they are from the beasts displayed before them in these pieces. While the observer connects with their feral side they are greeted with serenity from Leticia Maldonado’s El Conejo moon, and the simple joys found through the imagery of Megan Stelljes’ Pilchuck Flowers. In the end, the viewer is asked to consider the duration and value of life through the temporality of JiaHao Peng’s floral based installations which start fresh, but will wither over the duration of this exhibition.
All these works are crafted by human hands, a natural method of creation. Their imagery connects to the beauty of plants and animals, and ushers visitors into an illuminated garden made of glass and light. This garden is in hopes that we don’t lose sight of this wondrous world, and to help guide us back to it. As humans we must remember we are a part of nature and not the capitalist system that threatens our lives.
Artists featured: JiaHao Peng, Megan Stelljes, Leticia Maldonado, Daniella Thach, and Emma Varano.
Ascendancy of Pop2025(Photos by McKenzie Fitz) Formed around popular beliefs, images, and objects consumed by the masses, Pop defines various aspects of our being, whether we intend for it to or not. It often shapes the ways in which we interact with the world due to its overwhelming influence on our daily lives. Some may find the idea fun, and community oriented whereas others may criticize it from mass consumption to its negative influences. This show examines the ways in which pop culture surrounds us and reflects upon its dominating force that finds its way into the world of art.Artists featured: Tri, Sydney Gush, Amelia Bodenhorst, Kacie Lees, Matthew Jacob, Diamond Doodles, Samantha Reed, Yiwei Leo Wang, Lena Bobbye Keys, Carolyn Kassnoff, and Keny De La Peña.
tri.accord2025Grit by Nature, Elegant by Desire: Neon in DesignCo-curated with Grace Oller2025(Photos by McKenzie Fitz) With neon’s rich history in the advertisement industry, it has long been associated with a kitschy, campy aesthetic utilized in nightlife in order to grab one’s attention. But what happens when the bold and bright tubes are integrated into contemporary forms of design and stripped bare of their signage history? This exhibition recognizes the nostalgic energy of neon and seeks to modernize this classic media through its relationship with other forms of design. When paired with highly stylized furniture, fixtures, and graphic design, the maximalist nature of neon can be subdued into a minimal gesture.Artists featured: FÁTIMA, Fatimah Abuelenein, Adelaide Jimin Kong, Ethan Samaha, Yu Liang, Lena Bobbye Keys, Alex Jarus, Spencer Wohlrab, and Spencer Gale.
Kitsh-en Sink2025(Photos unavailable)
This show honors our first year in this space and highlights our beloved community that we have been so fortunate to build over this past year. The work showcased here is a mixed bag of meaning and executions to allow our community to show us their distinctive individual style and approach to the art of neon.
Without intention the work featured here embodies a notion of neon’s unique aspects. Neon in itself is a scientific exploration of materiality which we see in the works of Patrick Fina’s study titled Oscillating Waveforms and Lena Key’s UV reactive phosphor exploration in Forever Flowers. Outside of this science, neon possesses an ability to capture and radiate raw emotion like the works of Taylor Healy’s fragile and Victoria Hill’s Sober. Lastly, the medium is known for its ability to be whimsically kitsch like the works of Samantha Reed’s Sun, Star, Universe and Elizabeth Evan’s Lamp with Nose.
Each work in this show represents the uniqueness that makes neon special through the lens of our beloved patrons, which in turn highlights the beauty that is the Lightwriters community: curious, passionate, and a little silly (in the best ways imaginable).
Artists featured: Carolyn Kassnoff, Patrick Fina, Rea-Silvia Emmanouil, Mark Phan, Rebecca Krammer, Samantha Reed, Taylor Healy, Rex Cassidy, Victoria Hill, Elizabeth Evans, and Lena Bobbye Keys.
Neon to NeighborhoodsCo-curated with Victoria Hill2026(Photos by Stuart Davison)
Neon to Neighborhoods is a mutual-aid exhibition with the goal of selling artwork to raise money for the Erie Neighborhood House, a local organization that supports immigrants and low-income families through legal services, and mental health care among many other services. This show showcases a wide array of mediums from local and non-local artists, ranging from neon to ceramics featuring diverse imagery, all within affordable price points to maximize our fundraising impact. Please support our efforts and build your art collection in the process!
Artists featured: Tri, Patrick Fina, Victoria Hill, Rick Houton, Rachel Phoenix, Bird Nord, Zoelle Nagib, Jacob Fishman and Arlo Fishman.
Colors of Neon2026(Photos pending)
Lightwriters Neon Chicago is a community led teaching studio and gallery located in Chicago’s Ravenswood neighborhood. The studio offers beginner through advanced courses in traditional neon techniques, gallery shows, private lessons and events.
Colors of Neon is a show in collaboration with New Wave Coffee in which to showcase the unique color theory of neon. In order to create color in neon one must consider two factors; gas and phosphor/glass color. Neon utilizes five of the seven noble gases (most commonly: neon, argon and krypton) to fill the space inside the vacuum sealed tubes, and each gas gives off a different color, as well as different levels of brightness of light. Oftentimes glass is either externally colored or the color is added through an internal powder coating called phosphors, and when combined with one of the many gases we get a variety of different color combinations.
The magic comes from this interaction, and the best example to understand neon’s unique approach to color theory is this: green phosphor coated glass mixed with the silvery white krypton will keep it green, but when mixed with the bold red of neon, it turns orange. Blues can become pinks, yellows into lime green, whites into lavender, and so on. It all is determined by these two factors making the range of colors seemingly endless.
Artists featured: Tri, Patrick Fina, Zoelle Nagib, Jacob Fishman, Rick Houton, Adelaide Jimin Kong, Elizabeth Evans, Fatimah Abuelenein, Lena Bobbye Keys, and Spencer Gale.
Lambent Terrains2026(Photos pending) Lambent: glowing, gleaming, or flickering with soft radiance. Terrain: a stretch of land and the qualities beheld there. Lambent Terrains features work with a scenic approach to luminous neon art not unlike one would approach landscape painting. Each work in this show reflects upon the artists’ visions of the world told through scenes they created. Whether they be depictions of real life places, made up abstracted lands, or man-made maps; the works tell the stories of the artist’s view on the world. For Kiran Kodali, maps are an archive of those who have explored our lands before us, but for Sol HM maps are made up of coded languages and decided upon by few. Theo Luna and Lena Bobbye Keys remind us of the impact of capitalism on our lived condition, where we all have learned Hell is Real, like Patrick Fina’s piece depicting a rural Ohio landmark. Despite this we are reminded of the beauty in our world through the natural landscapes of Zoelle Nagib and Adelaide Jimin Kong which remind us not to take the natural world for granted as it leads to a place of inspiration and contemplative reflection. Each one of these works approaches a distinct world view and reminds us that the world we live in is bigger through the eyes of the individual. The perspective we carry and the lives we live are all uniquely our own even when there’s shared similarities, but despite our differences one thing remains the same; the planet we share. It is with understanding one another’s perspective that we are then able to broaden our understanding of our existence on earth through a deeper lens. Lambent Terrains is a glowing reminder to see things beyond ourselves and see this big blue planet through the eyes of these distinct individuals. Artists featured: Patrick Fina, Zoelle Nagib, Adelaide Jimin Kong, Lena Bobbye Keys, Sol HM, Kiran Kodali, Theo Luna, and Kathryn Steed.