Leo Villareal's 'Coding Light' Monograph Chronicles Algorithmic Light Installations

'Leo Villareal: Coding Light,' published by Monacelli, an imprint of Phaidon, serves as the most extensive monograph on the Mexican-American artist. This publication features over 50 works spanning more than 20 years and includes 350 images of his light installations. Among his notable commissions is the Illuminated River project, recognized as the longest public art commission globally by mid-2021, along with The Bay Lights on the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge, which ran from 2013 to 2023. Villareal's installation Multiverse at the National Gallery of Art in 2008 utilized 41,000 LEDs, while his 1997 work Strobe Matrix represented a pivotal moment in merging software, light, and space. The book contains essays by Molly Donovan and Annie Dell'Aria, as well as an interview with Sarah Sze, placing his art within the context of influences such as Frank Stella and Claude Monet.