About
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 her work has focused on building Light Ships, large-scale outdoor light sculptures that are immersive environments for experiencing light and time. These works are chambers of light, color, and glass that shift as light changes in rhythm with light from the sky.
The first of these experiential sculptures, Naima Trailer, was built between 2012-2015. The second, Willa, built between 2015-2020, was recently completed in Long's studio in Taos, New Mexico.
About Willa
Willa (2015-2020) is a large-scale outdoor light sculpture that will be permanently installed in a remote area of the high desert in Northern New Mexico. Consisting of a chamber of yellow light and glass hidden inside an old 1970s RV and large enough for 4 people to sit inside, Willa is an immersive environment for experiencing light and time.
Inside Willa, hundreds of handmade cast glass objects collect light from the sky. The interior changes as light shifts throughout the day, sunrise to sunset, or as clouds pass overhead. There is no electric light in Willa. Light enters Willa through a transparent roof, directly connecting the piece to the sky and its' cycles of day and night, weather, and seasons.
Willa is built for the slow read, for watching as light slowly shifts in rhythm with the time signature of the natural world. Willa is constantly changing and may be experienced in many ways over an extended period of time. Viewers are encouraged to spend as much time as possible inside the piece, especially to watch sunset, sunrise, clouds passing, or moon rise on a full moon night.
A search is underway for a site to install Willa in a remote area of the New Mexico desert where viewers may spend an extended period of time with the piece. The journey to reach Willa at this remote site will be an important part of the experience of the work.
About the Naima Trailer
Naima Trailer (2012-2015) is a large-scale outdoor light sculpture that was first installed in a remote area of the Mojave Desert in 2013. Consisting of a chamber of purple light and glass hidden inside an old trailer and large enough for 4 people to sit inside, Naima is an immersive environment for experiencing light and time.
Inside Naima, hundreds of handmade cast glass objects collect light from the sky. The interior changes as light shifts throughout the day, sunrise to sunset, or as clouds pass overhead. There is no electric light in Naima. Light enters Naima through a transparent roof, directly connecting the piece to the sky and its' cycles of day and night, weather, and seasons.
Naima is built for the slow read, for watching as light shifts in rhythm with the time signature of the natural world. Naima is constantly changing and may be experienced in many ways over an extended period of time. Viewers are encouraged to spend as much time as possible inside the piece, especially to watch sunset, sunrise, clouds passing, or moon rise on a full moon night.
Naima was first installed in the center of a dry lake bed in a remote area of the Mojave Desert as part of High Desert Test Sites 2013, an exhibition curated by Andrea Zittel, Dave Hickey, Libby Lumpkin, and Aurora Tang. The journey to reach Naima at this remote site is an important part of the experience of the work.
Debbie Long has recently exhibited her work at High Desert Test Sites in Joshua Tree, CA in an exhibition curated by Dave Hickey, Andrea Zittel, Aurora Tang, and Libby Lumpkin; Chimento Contemporary in Downtown Los Angeles, CA; The Harwood Museum in Taos, NM; Gallery 128 Lower East Side in New York City, NY; Vivian Horan Gallery in New York City, NY; Boston University's Sherman Gallery in Boston, MA; and The Center for Contemporary Art in Santa Fe, NM.
Reviews and Press include the BBC Culture London, UK; The LA Weekly, Los Angeles, CA; Artillery Magazine, Los Angeles, CA; ArtSlant, Santa Fe, NM; and Art Studio America, a new book about US Artists in their studios from Trans Globe Publishing London, UK.
Grants include a Pilchuck Glass School Residency in 2004 and a Creative Capital Foundation Workshop in 2006. Lectures include The Harwood Museum of Art in Taos, NM and SITE Santa Fe and the Santa Fe Center for Contemporary Arts' Dialogue 360 lecture series in Santa Fe, NM.
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.
Long worked as studio assistant to Ken Price in Taos, New Mexico from 2006-2012.
She lives and works in Taos, New Mexico.
CV
Harwood Museum of Art, Taos, NM Harnessing Light
Vivian Horan Gallery, New York, NY Taos 1960s-Present
The Paseo Project Taos, NM Naima Trailer
LAND/ART New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM Sculpture as Analogy to Landscape, Curated by Steve Barry.
Gallery 128 Lower East Side, New York, NY Migrate, Curator Sabra Moore
Boston University School of Visual Arts Sherman Gallery, Boston, MA Crossing Country, Curated by Hannah Cole
Site Santa Fe, Santa Fe, NM Lucky #7 Biennial, Artist Volunteer for Scott Lyall Collaborative Project, Curated by Lance Fung.
Nadie es Perfecto, Oaxaca City, Oaxaca Mexico Amor Sin Palabras, Curated by Ron Cooper.
Center for Contemporary Art, Santa Fe, NM Forest (solo exhibition)
2007
Cinemaland Chinatown, Los Angeles, CA NM10
Fenix Project Space, Taos, NM TreeStumpTreeForest. (solo exhibition)
516 Arts, Albuquerque, NM Artists from the Creative Capital Workshop, Curated by Diane Karp
Harwood Museum of Art, Taos, NM
Center for Contemporary Art, Santa Fe, NM Morphosis, Curated by Cyndi Conn
Site Santa Fe, Parking Lot, Santa Fe, NM Renters
Art Lobby Project Space, Taos, NM TreeForestCity (solo exhibition)
Salon Mar Graff, Santa Fe, NM
Donkey Gallery, Albuquerque, NM Comin' Down the Mountain
2005
College of Santa Fe, Santa Fe NM Bloc-busta
Taos Plaza Theatre Pop Up, Taos, NM Bloc-busta
2003
Center for Contemporary Art, Santa Fe, NM Collect
Center for Contemporary Art, Santa Fe, NM Window Project
Selected Awards/Honors
Creative Capital Foundation Professional Development Workshop Grant, Santa Fe Art Institute, Santa Fe, NM.
Pilchuck Glass School Residency Grant, Seattle, WA.
Harwood Museum of Art Taos, NM
Larry Bell, Taos, NM
Jeffrey Soros, Los Angeles, CA
Glen Schaeffer, Las Vegas, NV2014
Site Santa Fe and the Center for Contemporary Arts Dialogue 360 Lecture Series, Santa Fe, NM.
LAND/ART New Mexico Radius Books, Santa Fe, NM 2009
Collins, Tom Strange Shapes Indeed The Albuquerque Journal, Albuquerque, NM January 27, 2006
Tobin, Richard Bloc-busta Taos THE Magazine Santa Fe, NM September, 2005
Bloc-busta Exhibition Catalog Santa Fe, NM July, 2005
Nott, Robert Rec-reating Imagination The Santa Fe New Mexican Santa Fe, NM October 12, 2001
Collins, Tom Debbie Long at Fenix Geromino Taos, NM June, 1999
THE Magazine Debbie Long at Fenix Santa Fe, NM July, 1999
New American Paintings The Open Studios Press Number 19 Pacific Coast Edition Los Angeles, CA October, 1998
Pulkka, Wesley Urbane Artists The Albuquerque Journal Albuquerque, NM June 15, 1997
Paglia, Michael New From New Mexico The Denver Post Denver, CO August 23, 1997
Hemp, Christine Slingshot THE Magazine Santa Fe, NM November, 1996
Education
1993 BA French Literature University of New Mexico Albuquerque, NM
1993/1994 Adobe Forge and Sculpture Foundry Albuquerque, NM
2004, 2006, 2007 Walentynowicz Glass, Chicago, IL
2006-2012 Studio Assistant Ken Price Taos, NM