Go See It: Justin Tyner’s “Light as Memory”

Longtime readers of Streets Dept might remember a number of blog and Instagram posts we did starting in 2013 about a stained glass street artist named Justin Tyner. His installations on the street were unlike any other artist’s I’ve seen before or since. And now Justin has a solo exhibition at the Magic Gardens that showcases a beautiful collection of his street art and gallery work!

In Light as Memory: Recollections through Stained Glass, Justin mixes salvaged and repurposed glass to explore and manipulate the effects of light. “He uses the bottoms of discarded and recycled bottles and fallen stained glass from abandoned Philadelphia churches to create new psychedelic works,” the exhibition website reads. “Tyner often takes to the streets to hang his finished pieces in the urban landscape from where they came. Pieced together poems, kaleidoscopic patterns, and geometric forms make up his compositions, all of which filter natural light to create limitless color combinations. Tyner’s stained glass pieces pay tribute to the history behind the materials he uses and express the artist’s own personal feelings and memories. The works displayed in this exhibition are a reminder that inspiration can come from even the most forgotten places.”

Check out Justin’s exhibition now through September 8; a General Ticket will need to be purchased to enter. Go to the Magic Garden’s website here for more information on hours and ticket pricing.