Red Empty (Chicago 2003)

Light and darkness transform city buildings into surreal structures: an ordinary gray concrete building in plain daylight changes at night into a mysterious monolith or, under a blue-tinted lens, into an ethereal edifice. Swedish artist Carl Michael von Hausswolff harnessed these transformative powers of light to create a powerful spectacle that presents Chicago architecture from a wholly original perspective in this collection of striking photographs. "Red Empty (Chicago 2003)" is the latest in a series of urban-centered works spanning from Bangkok to Santa Fe in which von Hausswolff set 1000-watt red spotlights against the architecture of run-down, abandoned buildings to generate spectral real-world monochromes. His images explore intermediate realms through these otherworldly images - worlds traced by psychic residue that re-write the history of particular sites. "Red Empty" is a compelling visual work that transforms Chicago architecture into sculptures of light, shadow, and stone.