Curator’s Statement:

A Moonbow or lunar rainbow is an optical phenomenon caused when the light from the moon is refracted through water droplets in the sky. The amount of light available, even from the brightest full moon, is far less than that produced by the sun, so Moonbows are seen rarely. A Moonbow comes into its final form amidst the dark background of the night sky. 

Anselm Reyle's neon installations, which have not been shown in the US for some years, can be thought of as similar to a Moonbow--- a special, rare, and beautiful event created through a set of conditions and building moments. Reyle's exhibition at MoCA Westport, Rainbow in the Dark, is a part of an outgrowth of solo exhibitions the artist has done in recent years and that he is continuing in 2023 with solo shows at Koenig Gallery in Berlin and SPURS Gallery in Beijing.   

The title, Rainbow in the Dark, references Reyle's neon installation works showcased in dark environments and composed of fragments or leftover neon tubes from industrial and urban spaces. The neon installation plays a prominent role in this show at MoCA Westport. An essential aspect of his practice, Reyle is almost "drawing in space" with his neon installations, turning his gestural strokes into sculpture.  The neon lights channel the type of flashy storefront decoration or the gaudy culture of excess that characterizes cities like Las Vegas or Atlantic City as casino wonderlands. Reyle's artwork explores aspects of society and culture that are considered kitsch utilizing materials that may be regarded by some as tawdry and prominently displaying them in high art settings. 

Reyles' practice is very much inspired by his participation in the punk and heavy metal music movements. His unique color palette that utilizes Day Glo colors can be seen as an outgrowth of his fascination with psychedelic and punk aesthetics. These elements came into Anselm's awareness as a young adult in the 1980s growing up in Germany. This period was an explosive time of extreme transformation in the country, especially in terms of art, music, and youth culture. Reyle's musical influence is seen in the video displayed as part of Rainbow In the Dark, entitled Anselm Reyle in Studio, which showcases the artist's freeform gestural practice to a background of a pulsating heavy metal guitar.

In this exhibition of 20 works at MoCA Westport, Reyle showcases various iconic elements of his oeuvre; including his neon installations, foil works, two vases in his signature Fat Lava style, straw bale sculptures, a new collection of abstract photography, and a video. Rainbow in the Dark results from constant development in Reyle's artistic practice. It is rooted in his first artistic experiments with found materials like silver foil and neon tubes. Still, it displays the current representation of those ideas and concepts, highlighting Reyle's evolution as an artist over the past decade and documenting the expansion of his visual language in the present moment.

Selection of Press:

Brooklyn Rail

Office Magazine

Whitehot Magazine

CT Insider