Immersive light installation exhibition opens at Oklahoma Contemporary

A new immersive art exhibition transforming projected light into walk-through sculpture is now open at Oklahoma Contemporary, inviting visitors to experience large-scale installations that blur the lines between cinema, sculpture and drawing.

Anthony McCall: Solid Light, presented in collaboration with Tate, features the artist’s pioneering “solid light” works, which use projected beams and atmospheric haze to create slowly shifting geometric forms that appear almost tangible. Rather than observing from a distance, visitors are encouraged to move through the installations, becoming active participants and shaping how the works are perceived.

A highlight of the exhibition is Line Describing a Cone (1973), a landmark piece that redefined experimental film by shifting focus away from the traditional screen and toward the projector’s beam of light. As the work unfolds, a cone of light gradually forms in space, emphasizing time, movement and the viewer’s physical presence.

The exhibition also includes rare archival materials, photographs and early performance films such as Landscape for Fire (1972), alongside later digital works including Doubling Back (2003) and Split-Second Mirror (2018). Together, these pieces trace McCall’s decades-long exploration of how simple elements like light, motion and spatial perception can create complex, immersive environments.

McCall’s work has influenced generations of artists working at the intersection of film, installation and immersive art, continuing to challenge traditional boundaries between artist, artwork and audience.

Admission is always free and tickets are not required. Anthony McCall: Solid Light is on view now through July 27 in the Eleanor Kirkpatrick Main Gallery at Oklahoma Contemporary.