Artist Statment

Nicholas Lavella explores the intersection of technology, light, and space, creating immersive installations that transform environments into evolving experiences. His work fuses generative systems with sculptural forms, shaping spaces that shift in response to movement and presence.

At the core of his practice is the use of light and generative systems to create works that unfold in real time, existing in a constant state of flux. Whether embedded in architecture, reflected across water, or choreographed in the air, his installations respond dynamically to their surroundings.

In "Fences", pedestrian motion generates evolving light patterns. "Reflections" suspends illuminated grids over water, turning shifting reflections into the central experience. "Synthesis" expands this exploration into aerial space, performed in the round with viewers on all sides, transforming the sky into a generative sculptural composition.

Across all media, Lavella’s work dissolves boundaries between structure and light, creating environments in a constant state of transformation— spaces that are sculptural, experiential, and alive.

Biography

Nicholas Lavella is a Philadelphia-based artist whose interactive installations explore the relationship between technology, light, and space. His work merges generative systems with sculptural composition, shifting static environments into evolving experiences.

His early project "Lumens" (2012) examined interactive art through 36 custom-built LED tubes that generated real-time lighting patterns in response to foot traffic, laying the foundation for his future large-scale installations. In 2019, he developed "Elements", a modular series of geometric LED sculptures designed for public spaces, which evolved into Fences and Reflections.

In "Fences" (2020), foot traffic activates a 72-ft generative light structure embedded with over 9,000 LEDs. Viewed from afar, it forms dynamic abstract compositions; up close, visitors imprint their movement into the evolving display, bridging collective experience with personal engagement. "Reflections" (2022) suspends illuminated grids over water, where shifting reflections—not physical structures—become the essence of the work.

With "Synthesis" (2024), Lavella expands his exploration of technology as a sculptural medium, using drones as dynamic, generative elements. Unlike conventional drone displays, Synthesis is not a screen in the sky but an immersive aerial composition performed in the round, with viewers surrounding the work on all sides as it transforms the airspace into a living sculpture.

His installations dissolve the boundaries between structure and light, creating spaces in a constant state of transformation.