Solid Light, 1973, 2020, 2026" by Anthony McCall at Sean Kelly

Over fifty years of Anthony McCall's career are condensed into three works in this seventh solo exhibition by the artist at Sean Kelly, which traces the evolution of his "solid light" installations from the revolutionary "Line Describing a Cone" (1973) to the premiere of his most recent work, "Swarm" (2026). Born from the experimental film communities of London and New York in the late 1960s, McCall rejected the conventions of cinematic narrative to investigate the essential properties of film itself, transforming projected light into sculptural form that the public can physically traverse. In "Line Describing a Cone"—premiered at the gallery—a single projected line slowly traces the outline of a circle over thirty minutes, forming a luminous cone in a foggy environment, dissolving the boundaries between cinema, sculpture, and conceptual art. "Skylight" (2020) projects a slowly mutating cone of light downwards onto a pedestal, accompanied by an original soundtrack by composer David Grubbs that evokes the approach of a storm.