David B. Smith Gallery is delighted to present Rolling Aura, a solo exhibition by Brooklyn-based artist Liz Nielsen. Presented in the gallery’s project room, Rolling Aura features an array of framed analog photograms that are iconic to Nielsen’s signature style. Created using a light exposure process wherein Nielsen arranges compositions over light sensitive paper which are exposed 10 to 50 times per work, embedded throughout the photo emulsion are the fortuitous traces of color and movement.

Throughout works in the exhibition abstracted landscapes serve as entry point to poetic and philosophical discussion. Appearing as a snippet in time, Nielsen’s glowing landscapes speak to a state of being that is ever-changing. Where natural landscapes are concerned, what may physically exist in the current moment is the sum of countless factors and chance occurrences of the past, which in turn inevitably give way to unpredictable futures. As scenes of nature and seemingly immovable landscapes evolve alongside humanity, marks and auras are left behind.

In what are often referred to as light paintings, Liz Nielsen records the path of radiant energy as it moves over and through her works, giving rise to conversations of temporality, transformation, and the physical world. Open for interpretation and nimble enough to straddle multiple truths, Rolling Aura is an invitation to be transported to a reality of your choosing.

Liz Nielsen is an experimental photographer based in Brooklyn, NY. Her photographs are made without a camera and can also be described as light paintings. She works in the analogue color darkroom exposing light sensitive paper and processing it through traditional photographic chemicals. Each image is unique and ranges in size from 100" x 100" to 4" x 5". Liz has exhibited her work extensively including recent solo exhibitions in New York, London, Los Angeles and Paris. Her photograms have been featured at international art fairs such as Paris Photo, Photo London, and Unseen Amsterdam. Nielsen has been reviewed in the New Yorker, the Guardian, the London Financial Times, LensCulture, Vogue UK, and FOAM magazine among others.