Artists make Troy Glow

The Arts Center of the Capital Region hosts an annual light show around downtown Troy. With ten art installations scattered from 2nd to 4th Street, different artists make the downtown scene shine. Kicking off the festival, three tours were given last Friday. Throughout the ten-day period, several more tours will be given.

Starting on 2nd Street at the Troy Music Hall, New York City resident Aurora Robson made the outstanding light piece named “Eos.” Her sculpture expertise shines through the installation, which is made from welded industrial plastic debris and recycled materials.

A little bit down the road, a three piece set titled “Light Spills” by Carol Salmanson hangs in the windows of the Pioneer Bank. Salmanson’s pieces have very interesting lines, with different geometric shapes framing each other. Interestingly, the tour guide on Friday said that these pieces were meant to hang a little lower but instead were raised per the bank’s request.

Further down 2nd Street by Monument Square lies the next three installations. Alissa Eberle’s “Altered Glow” is another three piece set in the windows of Troy Wine Co. The neon glass installation shows a green portal-like mirror on Broadway, titled “Within,” and two other pieces titled “Grid” and “Window Grate” on 2nd Street.

Diagonally from “Altered Glow” sits the experimental ice sculpture art work titled “Entanglement” by Nate Mohler. Originally from Los Angeles, California, Mohler’s art is very experiential, which is beautifully portrayed in this work. The large ice sculpture made from 300 pound blocks of ice stands near the end of Broadway with a projector making beautiful color changing lights shimmer through the ice echoing bioluminescent algae. The piece will inevitably melt, which the tour guide said that Mohler wanted to illustrate temporariness.

The beginning of the tour, which was actually the fifth point on the map, stands “Evolving Luminescence,” attached to the building on Franklin Alley and Broadway. Made by Level Studio Architecture, the light extension makes a beautiful flag-like addition to the building. Made of four light-up panels, the large piece changes colors and brightens Franklin Alley.

The sixth point is the “Blue Lotus,” hanging high in the air between buildings for people driving by. Hanging above the “Enjoy Troy” sign, the enormous artwork lights the whole area in blue. On Friday night, the artist Sabrina Barrios was present. When asked to explain the piece, Barrios told the crowd that the piece is a “very physical” piece, taking inspiration from quantum physics and the cosmos. Additionally, she said many people see it as a spider web, stating she then “calls herself “the spider.” She then told everyone to look at the installation from different perspectives, changing how someone could interpret the meaning.

Next to “Blue Lotus,” there is another piece titled “Empty Signs” from Troy Glow 2022 by Adam Frelin. Initially in a different spot, the piece was purchased and moved to the area for permanent installation. Made from color-changing geometric shapes, the piece can be seen from afar, glowing each night.

Sitting in the window of Trojan Horse Antiques lies the next piece titled “Troy 1877,” created by Brooklyn resident Layla Klinger, who took inspiration from the location itself. After hearing that they were to show work at an antique shop, they chose to make artwork from a real map of Troy from 1877. The piece, like many others, rotates in different colors, brightening certain sections of the map, which is made of electroluminescent wire.

The most noticeable art exhibition stands on top of the building on 4th and Fulton Street titled “Beacon.” Jason Peters’ piece has a large presence, looking almost like a rainbow rollercoaster in the sky. Made from five-gallon buckets with LED lights inside pieced together, Peters made an interesting portal-like, multi-dimensional piece. The Friday tour saw Peters while walking, and when asked if he wanted to speak, he simply said “enjoy.”

The final artwork on the suggested route is titled “Light Work,” a panel projection can be found in the windows of a building on 4th Street. Brazilian-American Natan Diacon-Furtado’s exhibit is fascinating, with a window scene that has a rotating projection. Alongside the main window aspect, the entire building is lit up in blue, catching the attention of anyone nearby.

Troy Glow 2024 is a ten-day installation, with tours each night starting at 6 pm from 265 River Street when other public events are not taking place. A self-guided tour takes approximately 15 minutes, but free hour-long tours are given until November 10. Specifically, anyone can check out the Downtown Stroll on Saturday, November 9 from 4 to 8 pm, where free tours are given on the hour starting at 5 pm, leaving from 30 2nd Street. Local businesses and live music will attend. More information about the events, artists, and pieces can be found here.