Alyson Denny makes abstract photographic images. She manipulates light—bends it, blocks it, programs it, mixes its colors—and then captures that altered light to make both still and moving images.
In the fall of 2023, her moving images were featured on the largest outdoor screen in the Southeast in the inaugural screening of OffTheWall@725Ponce, a new showcase for film and video art from around the world. Her moving images have been commissioned for two residential installations, and Half & Half & Honey was acquired by Forest City for permanent display in the lobby of their residential tower, Radian Boston.
Her still photography has been exhibited widely, and reviewed in the New Yorker and the New York Times. In addition, it was featured in Harpers Magazine and on the cover of the fifth edition of the textbook Exploring Color Photography.
Photo: Stan Schnier
Since 2008 she has been a performing member of the famed Joshua Light Show, which got its start in the 1960s and was reformed in the 2000s with a mix of cutting-edge technology and their classic liquid light. She has performed abstract visuals with an eclectic group of musicians including Terry Riley, Lou Reed, John Zorn, MGMT, and Oneohtrix Point Never.
Alyson studied physics and filmmaking at Harvard, where her thesis film, Saturday Afternoon, was awarded summa cum laude and the Hoopes Prize for outstanding undergraduate thesis work.
She is currently on the faculty of the School of Visual Arts, NYC, where she teaches Light Lab, a course she developed on making photographs and videos using experimental lighting.
Curriculum Vitae (PDF)
Video interviews:
Video interview by Lyn Godley (done for the Waiting Room exhibit at HOTBED Gallery):
https://players.brightcove.net/3303963089001/default_default/index.html?videoId=6311949818112
Video interview by Zachary Keeting and Chris Joy (done for their video series Gorky's Granddaughter):
http://www.gorkysgranddaughter.com/2017/11/alyson-denny-oct-2017.html