Soraa LED lamps light Glass Art at Crocker Museum
GaN-on-GaN LED maker Soraa's full visible spectrum LED lamps have been installed to illuminate the Sacramento-based Crocker Art Museum's exhibition "˜Glass for the New Millennium: Masterworks from the Kaplan-Ostergaard Collection'.
"When illuminating glass, colour rendering is the most important element. You must have true, accurate colours to bring out the best in glass," said Matthew Isble, exhibit designer and chief preparator for the Crocker Art Museum. "We wanted something in the 3000K range that would mimic sunlight. Soraa LED lamps perfectly light the art glass pieces, making them sing."
In putting together this show, Isble and the team from the Crocker reviewed and tested LED lamps from four different companies. As they narrowed down their choices, the Crocker team opted to visit Soraa's LED fabrication facility in Fremont, Calif. Ultimately they chose Soraa VIVID MR16 and PAR 38 LED lamps for the exhibition.
'Glass for the New Millennium' covers the work of 70 glass artists and includes important pieces from the 20th century studio movement, such as the life-sized, figural forms of Karen LaMonte, cast-glass abstractions of Richard Whiteley, and the sculptures of Masahiro Asaka and Christina Bothwell.
"We needed a light source to make the glass come to life, bringing out the shapes, forms and colours. Soraa's LED lamps illuminate glass beautifully," said Isble. "At the Soraa facility, the company's production team explained how their LEDs are made. It was clear to us that the Soraa team members are serious about perfect lighting."
The Crocker Art Museum uses Litelab fixtures, and plans to replace all other lighting as it flickers or yellows throughout the facility with Soraa LED lamps.
Soraa LED lamps have also been installed at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, the J. Paul Getty Museum, Victoria and Albert Museum in London and Historical Museum of Bamberg in Germany.
