In "Luminescence," the transformative properties of encaustic and cold wax techniques emerge as a vehicle for Lois Lupica and Dagmar Nickerson to explore the elusive nature of light. This collection investigates the delicate interplay between opacity and transparency, where light both penetrates and reflects from multilayered surfaces.

Lupica's encaustic works capture light's journey through translucent beeswax layers, creating a luminous depth impossible to achieve in other mediums. The abstracted imagery investigates the paradox of permanence and impermanence—the way wax's ancient durability contrasts with the ephemeral quality of the effects it creates. The works invite viewers to experience how changing light conditions transforms each piece throughout the day, revealing new depths and subtleties with each viewing.

Adjacent are cold wax compositions offering a different luminosity—more subdued yet equally compelling in their soft, diffused glow that seems to emanate from within the painting itself. Cold wax medium, with its unique matte translucency and dimensional possibilities, allows Lupica to build surfaces that interact with light. By combining the medium with oil paints and incorporating various additives, she creates works with depth and subtle luminescence that shifts as viewing conditions change. Cold wax's distinctive material properties transform ambient light into an active participant in the artwork.

Nickerson, through her abstract encaustic mixed media collages, explores the delicate interplay between destruction and survival. Working with paper she incorporates organic elements such as leaves, flowers, reeds, and seeds - materials intrinsically tied to the earth's cycles. The fire element is integral to her process. Flames scorch and shape the paper, leaving charred edges and intricate designs layered in the wax.

The layers of wax envelope the natural materials, their luminous quality adding depth, translucency and a sense of preservation. The wax not only bonds the elements together but also creates a tactile interplay of light and shadow, inviting the viewer to peer into the layers of meaning within in each piece. Each piece carries the natural beauty of what stands to become lost through climate change, while simultaneously celebrating the resilience and survival instincts of all living things.

Throughout this exhibition, viewers are invited to witness how these ancient and contemporary wax techniques can transform pigment and natural elements into luminous fields that shift with changing light conditions. The works exist in a space between painting and sculpture, where surface texture, dimensional quality, and embedded elements create an experience that changes with both light and perspective. Luminescence celebrates the paradox of wax as both barrier and conduit—trapping light even as it allows its passage—creating works that hover between revelation and concealment, inviting contemplation beyond what is immediately visible.

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Banner Image by Lois Lupica