Four Incomplete Red Neon Circles on a Pink Wall 1977

Stephen Antonakos made this sculpture using red neon on a pink wall, but we're not sure when. The piece is a bit of a tease, isn’t it? Four incomplete circles glow, but never quite resolve into a whole. I love that kind of provisional, unresolved gesture – in some ways, that's what art is all about for me. The neon casts a soft glow, bathing the pink wall in a warm, inviting light. It feels like being inside a Rothko, but with a playful, graphic twist. The texture of the wall becomes part of the piece, a subtle backdrop to the vibrant neon lines. Look at how Antonakos uses the corner of the room, incorporating it into the composition. It's like he's drawing with light, sculpting the space itself. For me, this piece sits in a lineage with artists like Dan Flavin, who also used light to transform spaces. But where Flavin's work can feel quite austere, Antonakos brings a certain warmth and human touch to his light sculptures, embracing ambiguity and open-endedness.