Fire beckons a witness. It aches for bodies gathered close enough to feel its warmth, for eyes adjusting together. This January, Grimanesa Amorós restores fire to its original function—as a technology of human presence. Across Los Angeles and New York, Amorós unveils two site-specific light works that render illumination as a communal event. Her practice, rooted in architectural sensitivity and cultural memory, understands light as a living force: it breathes, it listens, in perpetual wait of communion.

At Walt Disney Concert Hall, RADIANCE emerges as a shared ignition. Developed in collaboration with the LA Philharmonic, the installation fully usurps the concert hall’s theatrical lighting for three nights, unfolding alongside Prometheus, Esa-Pekka Salonen’s staging of Scriabin’s The Poem of Fire. Amorós draws from the ancient myth of Prometheus—bringer of fire to humanity—and the Incan god Viracocha, creator and giver of wisdom. Fire becomes both medium and metaphor: a flickering threshold between knowledge and vulnerability, individuality and collective understanding. The light pulses like a living spark, moving through the architecture as if searching for connection, reminding audiences that enlightenment has always been a shared pursuit.

Later in January, PERFECT TIMING opens in New York at Printemps’ Wall Street flagship, where Amorós translates human presence into rhythm. The installation glows in green, yellow, and red—signals borrowed from traffic lights, city crossings, and hurried lives. Positioned as a luminous gateway, it listens to the city’s pace, asking passersby to consider how they navigate stillness within speed, pause within momentum. The work exists in conversation with its Art Deco surroundings, fashion, commerce, and the constant choreography of downtown life.

Across both works, Amorós programs light note by note, like music composed for bodies in space. Fire, once gifted to humanity to gather us together, is reimagined here as communal discovery—an invitation to stand in the glow, aware not only of ourselves, but of each other.

Grimanesa Amorós' 'RADIANCE' was part of the LA Phil's performance of 'Prometheus', conducted by Esa-Pekka Salonen and featuring pianist Jean-Yves Thibaudet (9, 10, 11 January 2026)

Amorós will unveil 'PERFECT TIMING' at Printemps New York on 22 January 2026.