W I L L A L I G H T S H I P
Photo Anne Staveley
About Debbie
Debbie Long is an artist who works with light. Long builds sculptures and immersive environments that unfold over time in rhythm with natural light from the sky, its' cycles of day and night, weather, and seasons.
For the last decade she has focused on building Light Ships, large-scale outdoor light sculptures that connect directly to the sky, utilizing the sun and moon as their sole source of light. These works are chambers of light, color, and glass large enough to accommodate 4 people. Inside light constantly shifts as light in the sky changes from sunrise to sunset or under moonlight. The first of these sculptures, Naima, was built between 2012-2015. Willa, built between 2015-2020, was recently completed in her studio in Taos.
Light Ships are immersive environments for experiencing the cycles of light and time that exist in nature. They are built for the slow read, for watching as light slowly shifts in rhythm with the time signature of the natural world. They intend to create an intimate experience of light and time and to attune audiences to the slow rhythms and cycles of sky, nature, weather, and seasons.
In addition to these major projects, Long creates room-sized installations, films, and individual sculptures.
Reviews and Press include Hyperallergic's review of Debbie Long: Light Ships at the Harwood Museum, the BBC Culture London, UK; The LA Weekly, Los Angeles, CA; Artillery Magazine, Los Angeles, CA; ArtSlant, Santa Fe, NM; Art Studio America, a new book about US Artists in their studios from Trans Globe Publishing London, UK; and LAND/ART New Mexico, a book recording a 6 month exhibition exploring Land Art in New Mexico from Radius Books, Santa Fe, NM. Awarded Grants include a Paseo Taos Community Grant in 2020, a Pilchuck Glass School Residency in 2004 and a Creative Capital Foundation Workshop in 2006.
Long completed Apprenticeships at Adobe Bronze Casting Foundry in Albuquerque, NM in 1993,1994 and at Walentinowicz Glass Studio in Illinois in 2004, 2006, 2007. She worked as studio assistant to Ken Price in Taos, New Mexico from 2006-2012.
Originally from Gallup, New Mexico, she lives and works in Taos, New Mexico.
Resume
Exhibition Links
Harwood Museum of Art Debbie Long: Light Ships Taos, NM (2022) Solo Exhibition
5.Gallery Santa Fe, NM (2022) Solo Exhibition
High Desert Test Sites Naima Light Ship Mojave Desert Los Angeles, CA (2013)
Chimento Contemporary Naima Light Ship Los Angeles, CA (2016)
Paseo Project Naima Light Ship Taos, NM (2014)
Mark Moore Gallery Tow Package Los Angeles, CA (2013) Solo Exhibition
Boston University School of Visual Arts Sherman Gallery Boston, MA (2008)
Center for Contemporary Art Santa Fe, NM (2008) Solo Exhibition
Press Links
Hyperallergic Light Ships at the Harwood Museum (2022)
Speed of Light: Light Ships at the Harwood Museum Taos News (2022)
Debbie Long Lets the Light Shine In Light Ships Harwood Museum New Mexico Magazine (2022)
Lynne Robinson Debbie Long Profile (2014)
BBC Culture American Artists in their Studios (2013)
LA Weekly High Desert Test Sites (2013)
Artillery Magazine High Desert Test Sites (2013)
MutualArt High Desert Test Sites (2013)
Selected Exhibitions
2022 Debbie Long: Light Ships, Harwood Museum of Art, Taos, NM Solo Exhibition
2022 Debbie Long, 5.Gallery, Santa Fe, NM Solo Exhibition
2018 Taos 1960s-Present, Vivian Horan Gallery, New York, NY (With Ken Price, Ron Davis,Ron Cooper, Larry Bell, Lynda Benglis)
2018 Harnessing Light, Harwood Museum of Art, Taos, NM (3 Person Exhibition, Curated by J Matthew Thomas)
2016 Naima Trailer Light Ship, Chimento Contemporary, Los Angeles, CA (2 person Exhibition)
2014 Art for a Silent Planet, Harwood Museum of Art, Taos NM (3 Person Exhibition)
2014 Naima Trailer Light Ship, Paseo Project, Taos, NM
2013 Naima Trailer Light Ship, High Desert Test Sites, Mojave Desert Los Angeles, CA (Curated by Andrea Zittel, Libby Lumpkin, Aurora Tang, Dave Hickey)
2013 Tow Package, Mark Moore Gallery, Los Angeles, CA Solo Exhibition
2012 Taos Contemporary, Denver Center for Visual Art, Denver CO
2011 Harwood Museum of Art, Taos, NM (Curated by Libby Lumpkin)
2009 Sculpture as Analogy to Landscape, LAND/ART New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM (Curated by Steve Barry)
2008 Migrate, Gallery OneTwentyEight, New York, NY (Curated by Sabra Moore, With Sabra Moore, Howardina Pindell, Kazuko Miyamoto)
2008 Crossing Country, Boston University School of Visual Arts Sherman Gallery, Boston, MA (Curated by Hannah Cole)
2008 Forest, Center for Contemporary Art, Santa Fe, NM Solo Exhibiton
2008 Amor Sin Palabras, Nadie es Perfecto, Oaxaca City, Oaxaca Mexico (Curated by Ron Cooper)
2007 Tree Stump Tree Forest, Fenix Gallery, Taos, NM Solo Exhibition
2007 NM10, Cinemaland Chinatown, Los Angeles, CA (Curated by Sydney Cooper)
2007 Artists from the Creative Capital Workshop, 516 Arts, Albuquerque, NM (Curated by Diane Karp)
2007 Harwood Museum of Art, Taos, NM
2006 Morphosis, Center for Contemporary Art, Santa Fe, NM , Curated by Cyndi Conn
2006 Tree Forest City, Art Lobby Project Space, Taos, NM Solo Exhibition
2006 Comin' Down the Mountain, Donkey Gallery, Albuquerque, NM (2 person exhibition)
2005 Bloc-busta, College of Santa Fe, Santa Fe NM and Taos Plaza Theatre, Taos, NM
2003 Peace Show, James Hart, Santa Fe, NM
2002 Collect, Center for Contemporary Art, Santa Fe, NM
2002 Window Project, Center for Contemporary Art, Santa Fe, NM
2001 Rec Room, Van de Griff Marr Gallery Shack Obscura, Santa Fe, NM
2001 Painting is Dead, Center for Contemporary Art, Santa Fe, NM (2 Person Exhibition)
2000 Work from Los Angeles, Fenix Gallery Taos, NM Solo Exhibition
Selected Awards
2020 Paseo Project Community Grant, Taos, NM
2006 Creative Capital Foundation Professional Development Workshop Grant, Santa Fe Art Institute, Santa Fe, NM
2004 Pilchuck Glass School Residency Grant, Seattle, WA
Selected Books and Catalogs
2014 The Gus Foster Collection Harwood Museum of Art, Taos, NM
2013 High Desert Test Sites 2013 Exhibition Catalog Aurora Tang, Andrea Zittel
2013 Art Studio America Trans Globe Publishing, London, UK Hossein Amirsadeghi, Maryam Eisler
2010 LAND/ART New Mexico Radius Books, Santa Fe, NM Bill Gilbert, Suzanne SBarge, Lucy Lippard
2005 Bloc-busta Exhibition Catalog Santa Fe, NM
Selected Articles and Reviews
2022 Boyle, Molly "Debbie Long Turns RVs into Vessels of Light" Hyperallergic. (May 15).
2022 Manuela, Maria "Debbie Long Lets the Light Shine In" New Mexico Magazine. (February 23).
2022 Robinson, Lynne. "Speed of Light: Debbie Long at the Harwood Museum" The Taos News. (March 23).
2014 Tresp, Lauren "Art For a Silent Planet: Blaustein, Elder and Long" ARTslant. (March 28).
2013 Cheng, Scarlet "High Desert Test Sites 2013" Artillery Magazine Los Angeles. (November 20).
2013 Gluck, Marissa "If You've Ever Wanted To Take a Road Trip Through the Desert" The LA Weekly. (October 14).
2013 Weinstien, Leah "High Desert Test Sites, A Diary" Mutual Art. (October 23).
2013 Lawrence, Rebecca "American Artists Pictured in Their Studios" BBC Culture London UK. (October 12).
2009 Fischer, Zane "Landscapism" The Santa Fe Reporter. (June).
2007 Hassett, Anthony "Debbie Long TreeStumpTreeForest" THE Magazine. (August).
2006 Collins, Tom "Strange Shapes Indeed" The Albuquerque Journal. (January 27).
2005 Tobin, Richard "Bloc-busta Taos" THE Magazine. (September).
2001 Nott, Robert "Rec-reating Imagination" The Santa Fe New Mexican. (October 12).
2000 Collins, Tom "Debbie Long at Fenix" Geromino Magazine Taos. (June).
Selected Collections
Harwood Museum of Art Taos, NM
Larry Bell, Taos, NM
Lynda Benglis, New York, NY
Jeffrey Soros, Los Angeles, CA
Glen Schaeffer, Las Vegas, NV
Gus Foster, Taos, NM
Ron Cooper, Taos, NM
Professional
2006-2012 Studio Assistant Ken Price Taos, NM
Education
University
1994 BFA Sculpture University of New Mexico Albuquerque, NM
1993 BA French Literature University of New Mexico Albuquerque, NM
Apprenticeships
1993, 1994 Adobe Forge and Bronze Casting Foundry Albuquerque, NM
2004, 2006, 2007 Janusz Walentynowicz Glass Studio, Chicago, IL