Untitled 4, Ian Gardiner, 2025, mixed media, 31 x 22 x 3 in. / 78.74 x 55.88 x 7.62 cm.

Sculptures with Embedded Light by Ian Gardiner

March 25, 2026 Gavin Coates

Featured image: Untitled 4, Ian Gardiner, 2025, mixed media, 31 x 22 x 3 in. / 78.74 x 55.88 x 7.62 cm.

The sculptural works of Ian Gardiner examine structure, fracture, and hidden interior space through a combination of reclaimed materials, plaster surfaces, and embedded light.

Ian Gardiner creates mixed-media sculptures that combine reclaimed materials, textured surfaces, and embedded light to explore hidden systems and fractured architectural forms.

Rather than presenting illumination as decorative, Gardiner uses LED panels to expose layered imagery concealed within rough architectural forms. Untitled (2026), Untitled 2 (2026), and Untitled 3 (2025) form a cohesive investigation into how systems, organic, architectural, and psychological, are shaped by pressure and adaptation. Across these works, light functions as both a visual anchor and a conceptual device, revealing interior narratives within surfaces that appear weathered or disrupted.

Untitled, Ian Gardiner, 2026, mixed media, 36 x 19 x 19 in. / 91.44 x 48.26 x 48.26 cm.

The compact, clustered structure of Untitled (2026) establishes a dense field of portals that operate like simultaneous windows into parallel spaces. Rounded forms stack and intersect, creating a sculptural rhythm that oscillates between organic growth and constructed geometry. Each illuminated opening contains a distinct interior image, suggesting fragmented narratives coexisting within a single body. The dark, textured exterior contrasts sharply with the warm glow of the embedded panels, emphasizing the tension between concealment and revelation. The work’s scale encourages close viewing, reinforcing the sensation that meaning resides within layered internal systems rather than on the outer surface.

Untitled 2, Ian Gardiner, 2026, mixed media, 88 x 11 x 11 in. / 223.52 x 27.94 x 27.94 cm.

In Untitled 2 (2026), Gardiner shifts toward a vertical, tree-like presence built from reclaimed wood and plaster compound. The tall, narrow structure reads simultaneously as a natural trunk and a damaged architectural column, marked by ruptures that emit controlled light. The elongated form introduces a temporal dimension, implying growth shaped by environmental pressure and structural instability. Small illuminated apertures punctuate the surface at irregular intervals, guiding the viewer’s gaze upward while reinforcing the sense of endurance through fracture. The sculpture balances fragility and resilience, presenting adaptation as an ongoing process rather than a resolved state.

Untitled 3, Ian Gardiner, 2025, mixed media, 37 x 22 x 3 in. / 93.98 x 55.88 x 7.62 cm.

The relief format of Untitled 3 (2025) expands Gardiner’s investigation into architectural space. A fractured plane of wood and plaster forms a jagged landscape, interrupted by recessed openings that glow from within. Vertical elements suggest remnants of a collapsed structure, while the illuminated scenes embedded in the surface introduce moments of persistence beneath disorder. Unlike the freestanding works, this piece operates closer to a wall-based environment, emphasizing depth through layered recession rather than physical projection into space. The interplay between rough texture and controlled light positions the work between ruin and reconstruction, inviting viewers to consider how systems accumulate damage while retaining internal continuity.

Gardiner’s sculptures present surfaces that appear damaged or incomplete, yet the illuminated interiors reveal ongoing activity and resilience. Through the integration of reclaimed materials, architectural references, and embedded imagery, the works frame disorder not as collapse but as a complex, layered state where hidden structures continue to operate beneath fractured exteriors.

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