Emil Lukas

#2023 Radiant

2020

thread over painted wood frame with nails 

Emil Lukas (b. 1964, Pittsburgh, PA) is an American artist known for his inventive, process-oriented work. His practice reimagines painting and sculpture by incorporating a wide range of unconventional materials, from thread and plaster to natural elements like fly larva.

Visit Emil's website to learn more.

Piero Atchugarry Gallery presents In Orbit with Untraceable Balance, a major solo exhibition by acclaimed American artist Emil Lukas (b. 1964, USA). Curated by René Morales, Senior Curatorial Fellow at The Bakehouse Art Complex, the exhibition brings together a striking new body of thread paintings and ceramic works, presented in dialogue for the first time. 

In celebration of Lukas’ Miami exhibition, the artist is also showcasing #2023 Radiant, at The Hotel Colonnade. The celebrated series of “Thread Paintings” are created by stretching thousands of meters of colored thread by hand across a loom-like frame. 

Lukas orchestrates intricate patterns—grids of countless lines radiating from an airy center toward denser perimeters—where negative space seems to emit light. Vertical bands vibrate optically, and subtle shifts in density create a powerful illusion of volume when seen from afar. These works invite the viewer into a threshold where light, color, and perception converge, generating what the artist describes as an optical emotion.