Rui Sasaki Captures Light in Darkness at Corning Museum of Glass Exhibition

Inaugurated in 1986 by the Corning Museum of Glass
in New York, the Rakow Commission is awarded annually to up-and-coming and established artists whose work is not yet represented in the institution’s collection. It supports the development of new pieces in the museum’s namesake medium, providing winners with $25,000 to push the material into unexplored areas. Past recipients include Toots Zynsky and Thaddeus Wolfe. The 33rd commission winner is Rui Sasaki, a Japanese conceptual artist with an MFA in glass from RISD—and an interest in weather, specifically how to capture light in darkness. Her Liquid Sunshine/I am a Pluviophile, opening March 28, consists of over 200 blown-glass “raindrops” embedded with phosphorescent material, installed in a 168-square-foot room. The room’s motion-sensitive lights turn off when viewers approach the drops, so only their glowing outlines are visible. “It reminds us,” Sasaki says, “that even on rainy days, a little sunshine still comes through.” 

> See more from the Spring 2019 issue of Interior Design Homes