Figge Art Museum Announces Leo Villareal: Evanescent Field Marking the museum’s Centennial, the landmark public art installation—the largest-ever in Iowa and a beacon for creativity and culture in the Midwest—will be unveiled to the Quad Cities community on May 17, 2025

DAVENPORT, IOWA (May 1, 2025) — The Figge Art Museum is pleased to announce the unveiling of Evanescent Field, a public art installation by world-renowned artist Leo Villareal that will illuminate the Figge’s exterior with dynamic patterns of colorful light for all to enjoy. First announced to the public in 2022, the commission celebrates the Figge’s Centennial yearand ushers in a bright new chapter for arts and culture in the Quad Cities and beyond.

Evanescent Field is the largest-ever public art installation in the State of Iowa, and one of the most significant in the Midwest, establishing the museum as a landmark for the entire region. Villareal’s site-specific masterpiece, created exclusively for the Figge Art Museum, directly engages with the surrounding environment, the Mississippi River, and the museum’s magnificent architecture, designed by Sir David Chipperfield. A grand public unveiling of Evanescent Field will take place at the Figge Art Museum’s Bechtel Plaza at approximately 8:45 PM on May 17, 2025, with celebrations happening concurrently across the Quad Cities. For more information, please visit https://www.subscribepage.io/FiggeGlowUp.

Internationally acclaimed artist Leo Villareal is known for his site-specific light installations, including The Bay Lights on San Francisco’s Bay Bridge; Illuminated River, a public artwork that unites 9 of London’s central bridges; Multiverse, a tunnel installation at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C.; and now, Evanescent Field at the Figge Art Museum. Evanescent Field is the largest public artwork in Iowa, and one of Villareal's largest works in the United States.

On the occasion of Evanescent Field’s unveiling, Villareal stated, “It’s an honor to make a contribution to the artistic landscape of the Midwest, and to activate this iconic building by David Chipperfield. Bringing this longstanding vision of the Figge to life in collaboration with an amazing team has been a fantastic experience. It has been a pleasure working in the Quad Cities, and I’ve had an opportunity to get to know the region over many trips over the last 10 years. I have seen first-hand the important role the Figge plays within the creative community, and I am honored to bring the building to life and to bring even larger audiences to its doors.”

Villareal uses binary code to create complex light sequences through custom software and on-site programming that incorporates and responds to a site’s environment. Evanescent Field is comprised of over 1,000 powerful full-color LED lights, which measure 5,000 linear feet on the exterior of the building, and were specified, tested, and selected by Villareal and lighting designer RDG, for their unique capabilities to deliver the desired effect for the artwork. The light array is controlled by custom software created by Villareal to activate all four sides of the Figge in constantly changing light. Because the lush and colorful patterns of Evanescent Field are abstract, they preserve a sense of mystery and invite viewers to come to their own subjective conclusions. Villareal’s artwork explores “evanescence,” a concept that refers to the thresholdsof perception as waves of light constantly melt away, only to be replaced by further iterations.

Villareal programs the light patterns such that they never repeat, so viewers have a unique experience each and every time they view the work. Inspiration for the sequencing comes from patterns and systems of rules in nature, particularly the rhythms of the Mississippi River, custom-tuned to be just the right brightness and tempo. At times, the sequences might evoke atmospheric clouds, and at others, underwater oscillations.

The project of lighting the Figge is 20 years in the making; when British architect Sir DavidChipperfield designed the museum’s current building, the original intent of both the architect and the community was to illuminate its glass façade to provide an ethereal glow at night. Built in 2005, the Figge’s current home was one of Chipperfield’s first commissions in the United States. The realization of Chipperfield’s initial vision for the museum will herald a bright new chapter for the institution on the occasion of its 100th anniversary.

Reflecting on this landmark moment, Melissa Mohr, Executive Director and CEO of the Figge Art Museum, said, “We are thrilled to unveil this singular work, specially commissioned and designed for the museum and our community. As the Figge marks its Centennial, we proudly present this enduring gift to the Quad Cities as a celebration of the last 100 years, and as a testament to the next 100 years to come.”

Evanescent Field’s $4 million installation was made possible by a $1.6 million award through Iowa Economic Development Authority’s Destination Iowa Creative Placemaking Fund, in conjunction with contributions from the Regional Development Authority, the Bechtel Charitable Trusts, and other generous donors.

About Leo Villareal
Leo Villareal is a Mexican American light artist based in New York City. His work is in the permanent collections of the National Gallery in Washington, D.C., The Museum of Modern Art in New York, and the Buffalo AKG Museum in Buffalo, NY, among others. Villareal also creates monumental, site-specific works including The Bay Lights (2013), a 1.8 mile long installation of 25,000 white LED lights on San Francisco’s Bay Bridge. In April 2021, he unveiled Illuminated River, which spans nine bridges along the River Thames in London, from the London to Lambeth Bridges, uniting them into a single monumental work of public art. Recently his work has been exhibited at Pace Gallery in New York, Geneva, London, and Palo Alto; the El Paso Museum of Art, El Paso, TX; UCCA Center for Contemporary Art, Beijing; and the Jewish Historical Museum, Amsterdam, Netherlands. Villareal is represented by Pace Gallery.

About the Figge Art Museum
The Figge Art Museum is dedicated to bringing art and people together. Located on the Mississippi River in downtown Davenport at 225 West Second Street, the Figge is the premier art exhibition and education facility between Chicago and Des Moines. Its landmark glass building, designed by British architect David Chipperfield, is home to one of the Midwest’s finest art collections and presents world-class exhibitions, art classes, lectures, and special events that attract visitors of all ages. Museum hours are 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday; 10 a.m.-8 p.m. on Thursdays; and 12-5 p.m. on Sundays. Reservations are not required, but can be made at www.figgeartmuseum.org or by calling 563-345-6632. Admission to the museum is $14 for adults, $10 for seniors and students with ID and $8 children ages 4-12. Admission is free to Figge members and institutional members and to all on Thursday evenings. You can become a member for as little as $50 by visiting the Figge website. To contact the museum, please call 563.326.7804, or visit www.figgeartmuseum.org.

Figge Art Museum Contact
Lacey Skorepa, Director of Marketing
lskorepa@figgeartmuseum.org
563-345-6660