“I try to construct images that are not narrative, but function as systems: I am interested in working with perception, with what is visible and what remains hidden.The structure is always highly controlled, yet it must also leave room for something unpredictable, where light is not just an effect but a material that completely transforms the work.My works do not tell a story, but create a condition, bringing the viewer into a space that is never fully defined.”
Thomas Brambilla Gallery is pleased to present Spaced Out, the third solo exhibition by Italian artist Erik Saglia (1989), opening on May 16, 2026.
The exhibition features seven new works in painted aluminum and LEDs that mark a significant evolution in the artist’s practice. These pieces exist in direct continuity with his previous paintings, preserving both the formal content and the methodical use of the modernist grid explored in his recent “Manifesti Satellite” series. In this new phase, Saglia does not merely reiterate the geometric rigor of his past work; he elevates it by integrating light as a constructive material. The grid shifts from a mere organizational perimeter into a vibrant organism: modular patterns evolve into devices capable of radiating light and color, maintaining a structural essentialism where technology becomes a luminous extension of form.
The exhibition draws inspiration from the thought of Hong Kong philosopher Yuk Hui, who, through his concepts of "cosmotechnics" and "technodiversity," invites us to rethink technology as a free, poetic tool capable of opening the world to infinite possibilities. In this light, the title Spaced Out evokes an outward impulse—a movement beyond the limits of form and matter toward a plurality of visions. By reworking Hui’s theories, Saglia transforms the LED from a simple industrial component into a vital, dynamic element. It allows the rigidity of the modernist grid to "vibrate," offering the viewer a horizon of infinite communicative possibilities while remaining deeply rooted in the artistic traditions of the twentieth century.
In Saglia’s work, Dan Flavin is echoed in his ability to transform the surrounding environment through chromatic irradiation and the integration of light within the stratified structure of the work; on the other, François Morellet is evoked through mathematical and analytical rigor, transforming the grid into a pulsating, living organism. However, the most evident and profound connection for Saglia remains the work of the American artist Keith Sonnier, which manifests in a unique chromatic and formal lightness. The final result of Saglia’s work transforms the LED into a dynamic graphic sign in which formal precision and luminous energy merge into a total experience, much like in Sonnier’s own work.
