Light in Art
How Artists Illuminate in Contemporary Practice
Light has always held a magnetic pull for artists. More than what the eyes can see, it is a universal symbol of hope and renewal. In art, it serves both as a medium and metaphor; something that can be painted, sculpted, refracted or implied. Over time, everyday objects like lanterns, candles and incense have become artists’ muses, reminding us that light is never just a visual effect; it’s a way of carrying stories forward.
Lanterns in Art
Lanterns are among the most recognizable cultural symbols of light. Their beauty lies in contradiction: fragile in their materials, yet enduring in their glow.
Take Deborah McKellar’s The Blue Lanterns (left) exhibited in our Layers of Home exhibition at The Working Capitol, and her Year of the Tiger (right) artworks. By layering cultural motifs on paint, McKellar reimagines lanterns as luminous icons of heritage. The work shows us how traditional motifs can slip seamlessly into contemporary practice, creating art that feels both familiar and fresh.
Incense in Art
The burning of incense has always been linked to religion and rituals, its curling smoke a symbol of impermanence and devotion. In a way, it represents something fleeting that can still leave a lasting impression.
Singaporean artist Charles Wong captures this duality in his dot series. In works like Journey Beyond (above), he burns directly into the canvas with incense sticks, leaving behind delicate perforations that resolve into intricate patterns. The act of burning becomes both process and meaning: fire and smoke embedded in the work itself.
The result is a surface alive with quiet intensity, a work that reminds us how traditional mediums can be reinterpreted, where even the act of burning becomes a form of contemporary artistic expression.
Reflective Surfaces in Art
Why do reflective surfaces fascinate us so much in art? Perhaps because they behave like light itself - fluid, shifting and never quite the same twice. A mirror-like sheen or metallic glimmer brighten a canvas and it transforms the way we experience the space.
In her Sun Shining through Rain series, Singaporean artist Kelly Ng Shah explores this through layers of silver leaf that shimmer as the viewer moves. The works recall the way sunlight breaks through after a storm, catching and scattering in unpredictable ways. Seen in a home or corporate interior, they create a sense of renewal and presence.
Sculpting with Light
In today’s art, light is no longer bound to canvas or paint. It has become a medium in its own right. Sculptors now bend neon tubes, embed LEDs, and polish metals until light becomes form itself.
British sculptor Mark Beattie exemplifies this approach with his contemporary light sculptures. His looping sculptures, threaded with neon or LED, hum with energy. Lines of light seem to pulse and ripple, changing the atmosphere of a room entirely.
From lanterns that glow with memory to sculptures that radiate with neon, artists continue to explore light as both subject and substance. What strikes us most is how varied these interpretations are, yet all share a sense of wonder. Light is never static; it shifts and reshapes itself, just as our experience of art does.
For anyone looking to see art in a new light, discover more artworks that play with light in our curated online gallery.