Bright Lights, Big City

Bruce Munro returns to Cheekwood with a special 10th anniversary light installation

Written by Melissa Mahanes / Photos courtesy of Serena Munro

Bruce Munro is a multi-disciplinary British artist renowned for creating immersive light installations that inspire wonder and awe. Born in 1959 in Wiltshire, England, Munro spent his early years studying fine arts and design at various institutions in the UK, including Bristol Polytechnic and the University of West England.

In the early ‘90s, Munro shifted his focus from photography to installation art. He began creating large-scale sculptures incorporating light, and his work quickly gained attention for its beauty and innovation. Munro’s artistic practice is known for its unique blend of installation, sculpture, and lighting design, creating large-scale light landscapes that transform the natural environment into a magical and mystical world. They often incorporate thousands of individual components, such as light bulbs, acrylic rods, and reflective surfaces, which he uses to create mesmerizing patterns and shimmering color shifts. Munro’s works are also known for their ability to evoke emotions and connect people with their surroundings unexpectedly and profoundly. Additionally, many of his pieces are environmentally conscious and designed to minimize waste and promote sustainability, adding to their appeal and relevance today.

Munro’s works have been exhibited worldwide, including the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, the Guggenheim Museum in New York, and the Eden Project in Cornwall, England. He is best known for Field of Light, which first debuted in Australia in 2004 and has since been recreated in multiple locations globally, including at Uluru in the Australian Outback and in the United States at the Houston Museum of Natural Science.

His return to Cheekwood Botanical Garden and Museum of Art after ten years with LIGHT: Bruce Munro at Cheekwood will portray how Munro has changed and evolved as an individual, as has his relationship with the site, technology, and world around him. The exhibition will feature ten immersive, grand-scale light productions displayed throughout Cheekwood’s grounds, in the Historic Mansion and Museum, and Frist Learning Center. At the center of the exhibition’s many installations will be Forest of Light, which submerges the viewer with a landscape of 12,750 lighted glass spheres, creating a natural and ethereal effect.

“I work with light because working with a medium that is so very pure has enabled me to express many of my ideas that filled my head and my sketchbooks. Forest of Light is a composition of moments throughout my life that have led me to become the artist I am today,” said Munro.

Two-dimensional works of art will also be displayed throughout the Museum’s galleries. The 2023 exhibition is made possible by the Ann & Monroe Carell Foundation (Kathryn & David Brown, Edie & David Johnson, and Julie Carell Stadler) with corporate presenters First Horizon Bank and Gullett Sanford Robinson & Martin PLLC (GSRM Law); Hospitality Partner, Nashville Convention and Visitors Corp; as well as individual underwriters and patrons.

“After ten years, we are excited to welcome back Bruce Munro to Cheekwood for his exhibition of LIGHT,” said Jane MacLeod, President and CEO of Cheekwood. “His extraordinary installations set among Cheekwood’s incomparably beautiful and historic estate offer an unparalleled experience that is both mesmerizing and delightful.” There is no doubt that this expanded and enhanced installation will fascinate an entire new generation of visitors to Cheekwood.