Lightforms / Soundforms is, to date, the world's most comprehensive exhibition dedicated to the work of Brian Eno as an artist.

For the occasion, the artist has created the piece New Space Music, a musical installation specifically conceived for his visit and to be listened to in the Max Cahner Cloister in Arts Santa Mònica.

The exhibition also includes his icon installation 77 Million Paintings (which will occupy the centre's second floor), a huge generative audio-visual installation. This means that the images and sounds that comprise the installation are evolving indefinitely, according to a set of rules with a certain statistical dimension (in such a way that the results cannot be predicted by the artist). Due to the high number of possible combinations of shapes, colours and sounds, the installation is constantly changing. In fact, each combination of light and sound would take years to be repeated. According to Eno's calculations, the piece is capable of producing 77 million different images (hence the name of the installation).

Another important element to the exhibition is the Light Boxes, which will be displayed on the first floor of ASM. These are paintings of lights that constantly evolve. They can be viewed as moving paintings, or visual music.

In this floor an accurate selection of pieces on paper from the artist can also be seen. It is a series of dated and organised Notebooks that Brian Eno has been keeping since his mid-teens, which contain both aspects of his personal and working life. Through quotes, sketches and diagrams executed with a neat and discrete handwriting, these pages enable us to follow an intimate journey, his initial steps, he disregarded variations and the development throughout the years of his ideas and projects, both musical and artistic.

The notebooks have never been published before, apart from some partial reproductions. Eno conceives his own notebooks as a bank of ideas.

Lightforms / Soundforms also includes a presentation at Barcelona El Prat Airport, in the terminal 1 baggage claim area. Travellers who arrive in Barcelona between the 12th and 18th of June will hear the latest ambient music album by Brian Eno, Reflection, over the loudspeakers. In the words of Eno himself, this album represents the full realisation of his ambient music concept, which was developed by him in the 1970s, now that computers make it possible to produce an indefinite piece of music that is always changing (something that was impossible when music could only be distributed in disc format). The presentation of this new piece at the airport is a reference to one of the first ambient music albums created by Eno in 1978, entitled Music for Airports.

Photographs:
77 Million Paintings (Nick Robertson at WORDSALAD)
Light Boxes (courtesy of Paul Stolper)
Brian Eno (courtesy of Shamil Tanna)
Photos exhibition at Arts Santa Mònica: Marta Becerra

Curator: Lluís Nacenta

Curator Assistant: Maria Fallada

Graphic Design: todojunto.net

Exhibition Design: Espai e

Assembly: GAMI SCP i Lumen

Organizes and produces: Arts Santa Mònica – Departament de Cultura

Collaborates: Festival Sònar + D (15-17 juny)