Visible but intangible works of art at London’s Tate Modern

SCULPTURE CAN BE APPRECIATED by enjoying the light reflected off it or passing through it, by touch, and sometimes by sounds it makes. Today, at London’s Tate Modern gallery, I saw an exhibition of sculpture that can be seen, but cannot be touched or even heard. The exhibits were beams of light projected onto screens through a room filled with the sort of smoke used in theatres to create haziness. All these exhibits were created by the British artist Anthony McCall, who was born in 1946.

The projected light creates often changing patterns on broad screens. What makes the exhibits really exciting is that the slowly moving smoky haze in the room allows the viewer to see the paths taken by the projected light through space. These three-dimensional envelopes of light produce interesting sculptural forms, but unlike most sculptures, the viewer can move through them unimpeded. And while moving through these space-filling light formations, the viewer modifies their shapes and what is projected onto the screens. The results are both intriguing and beautiful, apart from being quite unusual. Words cannot adequately describe what we saw at this show. You need to experience it for yourself to enjoy this intangible but intensely visual sculptural show, which is continuing until 27 April 2025.