Galya Lutzky

"Through the Looking-Glass"

Dr. Karl and Leila Ribstein Center for Information Technology

Geometric structures and the “relationships” among them, as well as with other bodies, are a topic of fascination for Galya Lutzky, an alumna of the Moscow State Pedagogical University in mathematics. Simultaneously, she is also exploring how the interplay between ordered patterns can reveal the boundary separating the real from the imaginary.

The mutual reflections of Midtown Manhattan’s skyscrapers captured her attention when she lived and worked in New York, leading her to make the original choice of painting on reflective film (cardboard coated with a mirror-like layer). Her hand-painted geometric structure drawings create tension between calculation and chance; precision and the inevitable imperfection of a manually drawn line; logic and intuition.

The three-dimensional structures in Lutzky’s work consist of two components: Real (metal wires), and illusory (mirror reflection), perceived by the viewer as a whole. Mirrors set at various angles create multiple reflections, interlinking into a complex structure that does not exist in reality. In Lutzky’s careful design, the concrete metal wire may be a relatively small part of the overall visual result.