Chauvet Professional fixtures were also in high profile inside the Mijares Gallery, where award-winning Ovation E-190WW LED ellipsoidals focused warm white light on the most important works of art in the 30-piece display, giving them weight and articulation.
According to lighting designer Ruben Laine of DMDS7UDIOS, the Chauvet Professional products helped him meet the challenges of illuminating the outdoor mural and indoor space at Mijares, which, like many Art Basel exhibitors, was a "pop-up" gallery located in a leased venue. The huge front mural, painted by Alexander Mijares in 12 hours over two days, was built around the theme "Make Art, Not War" and featured many of the artist's recurring subjects such as angels, women and flower petals along with a decorated M16 machine gun. "As far as non-architectural large canvases go, it was by far my biggest subject," said Laine.
The hardest part of illuminating the mural, according to the designer, was rigging the lighting fixtures in place without being able to make a permanent installation, however the easily linkable, outdoor-IP66-rated COLORado 1-Quad IP LED fixtures proved more than up to the task. "Once hung, the COLORados shone by their own merit and made the job as easy as daisy-chaining weather-proof connectors, addressing the fixtures and pressing 'Play,'" said Laine.
Laine mounted a total of 10 COLORado 1-Quad IP units on the top of the wall, spacing the centre eight units evenly at 36 inches and extending the peripheral units 44 inches out. "The beautiful beam spread of the COLORado 1-Quad IP units did all the work," said Laine, "shining evenly from the top of the wall all the way down to the sidewalk. The units' four-color LEDs provided the perfect application for the job, allowing us to wash the piece with a nice, even white light for showcasing the art, while at night it gave us a chance to play with the art's high contrast and super-saturated colours."
(Jim Evans)
