CORNELL ART MUSEUM, DELRAY BEACH, FLORIDA
WAVES BECOMING LIGHT
(Solo Exhibition)
APRIL 24, 2019 - OCTOBER 6, 2019
PHOTO CREDIT: JULIA ROSE FOR CORNELL ART MUSEUM
Miya Ando’s Waves Becoming Light was a solo exhibition at the Cornell Art Museum in Delray Beach, Florida, presented from April 24 to October 6, 2019. Part of the museum’s “Seven Solos” series, the installation transformed the gallery into a meditative, immersive environment centered on the interplay of light, material, and perception.
The exhibition took its title and conceptual grounding from a quote by the 13th-century Zen monk Eihei Dōgen:
“The moon dwelling in the quiet mind— even the waves are breaking down and becoming light.”
At the heart of the installation were sheer indigo silk panels suspended from the ceiling. These diaphanous textiles gently swayed with ambient movement, casting shifting shadows and allowing light to filter through. Their ephemeral presence evoked the sensation of moonlight dissolving across the surface of water, creating a sense of stillness and fluidity simultaneously.
Accompanying the fabric environment were three reflective metal paintings: New Moon, Full Moon, and Sui Getsu (Water Moon). Created with 23-karat gold, pigments, mica, resin, and stainless steel, these works were installed on facing walls. The mirrored surfaces allowed viewers to see both themselves and the artwork reflected, emphasizing the relationship between observer, object, and light. Standing between New Moon and Full Moon, the visitor became part of the spatial and temporal continuity suggested by the works.
In Waves Becoming Light, Ando created a quiet, contemplative space where natural phenomena—moonlight, water, air—were rendered through minimal, refined materials. The installation invited viewers to pause, observe, and engage with transience not as absence, but as a mode of presence.