Media Release

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Marie Butterline | 405-951-0000 | mbutterline@okcontemp.org
Media kit: https://bit.ly/SolidLightWorks

Exhibition is a landmark collaboration with London’s Tate Modern

OKLAHOMA CITY (June 10, 2025) — Oklahoma Contemporary is proud to announce a landmark collaboration with London’s Tate Modern to present Anthony McCall: Solid Light, opening March 2026. This North American premiere marks a historic moment in Oklahoma’s cultural landscape, bringing McCall’s immersive light sculptures — described as “cinema without film” — to the heartland for the very first time.

A pioneer of experimental film and installation, McCall transforms light into living architecture. Visitors will walk through sculptural beams made of mist and projected light in a rare, sensory experience decades in the making. The exhibition also includes film, photography and archive material documenting McCall's extraordinary practice. AnnaVittoria Pickett, director of exhibitions at Oklahoma Contemporary, remarked, “These luminous, spatial drawings offer a profound encounter with light, time, and movement, unlike anything our audiences have experienced before. It’s a privilege to share such an iconic body of work with our community and to continue expanding the conversations around contemporary art here in Oklahoma.”

Anthony McCall, a British-born, US-based artist, began his artistic journey in the early 1970s and has since become a pivotal figure in contemporary art. His early involvement in London’s independent film scene marked the beginning of his exploration into performance, light and movement, elements that would soon define his evolving artistic practice. Solid Light traces the roots of his practice, presenting rare photographs and film footage from some of his earliest performances. Among these works is Landscape for Fire (1972), a pivotal work in which members of the art collective Exit light fires in a grid-like pattern outdoors. Accompanied by ambient sounds of foghorns and wind, the piece juxtaposes the rigid logic of geometric arrangement with the unpredictability of natural elements — an early sign of McCall’s fascination with spatial and temporal structure. Also featured are formative works such as Room with Altered Window (1973), which represents McCall’s growing interest in the interplay between light and architecture. McCall’s solid light works have since influenced many subsequent artists working with film and installation.

In 1973, McCall relocated to New York, where his focus shifted to exploring the intersection of film and sculpture. Inspired by the light beams emitted from film projectors, he began rethinking cinematic conventions, turning his attention away from the screen and toward the projector itself. Thus, he invited the audience to turn around and face the source of the light rather than the screen. This conceptual breakthrough led to Line Describing a Cone (1973), the first in what would become known as McCall’s solid light works. Using a 16mm projector, the piece begins with a thin beam of light slowly forming the outline of a circle over a 30-minute duration. As the shape emerges, it creates a three-dimensional cone of light in the gallery space. Both minimalist and immersive, the work invites viewers to move through light as sculptural form. “His works are incredible. You first encounter them, and they look solid. It is rare in a museum context that you feel like you can encounter a sculpture, physically occupy it and interact with it in such a playful and physical way,” said Andrew de Brun, co-curator of the exhibition at Tate Modern. “Visitors are experiencing something live and having a very live encounter.” Accompanying materials in the exhibition include early sketches and documentation that reveal the process behind this now-iconic piece.

McCall withdrew from creating art toward the end of the 1970s, only returning to his practice when the emergence of new digital technologies reignited his interest by expanding the possibilities of his light-based works. The advent of haze machines and digital projectors allowed him to intensify the spatial experience of light, freeing him from the constraints of the 4:3 aspect ratio of analogue projectors.

This renewed phase of McCall's practice is showcased in the exhibition through works like Doubling Back (2003), his first major return to the solid light concept in the 21st century. Face to Face (2013) expands these developments using overlapping projections to create interactive volumes that respond to viewer presence in unexpected ways. The work paradoxically allows the viewer to look both toward the projector and the screen to perceive the very shape they are inhabiting. Split-Second Mirror (2018), a technically intricate installation, uses mirrored surfaces to disrupt and fragment planes of light. The result is a dazzling play of reflection and refraction, continuing McCall’s lifelong inquiry into how cinema, sculpture and spatial perception intersect.

Solid Light marks a major moment for the arts in Oklahoma, offering visitors a rare opportunity to experience these monumental works firsthand. “Bringing Anthony McCall’s Solid Light to Oklahoma Contemporary in collaboration with Tate Modern is a landmark moment for our institution and for Oklahoma City. This historic collaboration affirms our commitment to presenting world-class contemporary art and creates a rare opportunity for our audiences to engage with one of the most influential artists of our time,” said Executive Director Trent Riley.

Anthony McCall: Solid Light will be on view March 13 through July 27, 2026. Enjoy a preview trailer of Anthony McCall: Solid Light here.

About Oklahoma Contemporary
Oklahoma Contemporary, formed in 1989 as City Arts Center by Christian Keesee and Kirkpatrick Foundation Director Marilyn Myers, is a nonprofit organization committed to providing quality, accessible and affordable arts programming. With a mission to encourage artistic expression in all its forms through education, exhibitions and performance, Oklahoma Contemporary is committed to instilling in the public a lifetime appreciation of the arts and enthusiasm for creative practice. For more information on free exhibitions, class schedules and public programs, visit oklahomacontemporary.org.

More information can be found in the media kit at https://bit.ly/SolidLightWorks. An exhibition webpage and opening night tickets can be found at okcontemp.org/SolidLight. Past press releases and information are archived at okcontemp.org/media.