Luftwerk is the artistic duo of Petra Bachmaier and Sean Gallero. Since founding in 2007, the practice has developed a significant body of work that explores the interplay of light, color and space through the exploration of data, nature, history, and architecture. Their work is multi-faceted, taking the form of installations, site-specific interventions, and artwork, engaging with landscapes, architecture along with galleries, museums, and art centers.
Installations and artwork by Luftwerk have been exhibited broadly at institutions including: Chicago Cultural Center, Chicago, IL; Fosdick-Nelson Gallery, Alfred University, Alfred, NY; Cheekwood Estate & Gardens, Nashville, TN; Mattress Factory, Pittsburgh, PA; Museum für Gestaltung, Zürich; Arts Club of Chicago, Chicago, IL and Garfield Park Conservatory, Chicago, IL. Throughout their practice, Luftwerk has develop a robust portfolio of projects that engage with notable modern and contemporary architecture including: Jay Pritzker Pavilion, Chicago, IL by Gehry Partners; Barcelona Pavilion, Barcelona and Farnsworth House, Plano, IL by Mies van der Rohe; Ford Residence, Aurora, IL by Bruce Goff; Millennium Park, Chicago, IL by SOM; Fallingwater, Mill Run, PA and Robie House, Chicago, IL by Frank Lloyd Wright; and Netsch Residence, Chicago, IL by Walter Netsch. The artists have realized numerous large-scale permanent public and private commissions in Atlanta, Calgary, Charlotte, Chicago, Harare, Tampa, and Kansas City. They have received numerous awards, including project awards from the AIA Chicago, Graham Foundation, and the Illinois Arts Council. Their work is in several public and private collections including the Public Art collections of Chicago and Fulton County, Museum Buchheim, USF Institute for Research in Art. Their work has been featured in publications such as Artforum, Hyperallergic, Time Magazine, The New Yorker.
Exhibitions
Chicago Botanic Garden
Glencoe, IL 2024
Volume Gallery
Chicago, IL 2023
Chicago Cultural Center
Chicago, IL, 2022
Fosdick-Nelson Gallery, Alfred University
Alfred, NY, 2022
Cheekwood Estate & Gardens
Nashville, TN, 2022
Mattress Factory
Pittsburgh, PA, 2021
Museum für Gestaltung
Zürich, 2020
Elmhurst Art Museum
Elmhurst, IL, 2019
Cleve Carney Museum of Art
Glen Ellyn, IL, 2017
Arts Club of Chicago
Chicago, IL, 2016
Garfield Park Conservatory
Chicago, IL, 2015
Exploring, shifting, evolving. Our work harnesses the creative possibilities of nature, data, and the built environment to shift perceptions and create immersive experiences. Highlighting the interplay between light and color, we construct artwork that shapes new understandings and perspectives of our surroundings.
Spanning a range of scales—from installations and strategic interventions to prints and sculpture—each project is part of a continuum of exploration with each piece building from one another. We utilize opposing dynamics to unearth the inherent complexity, depth, and dimension of materials and contexts with an expansive approach that engages landscapes, gardens, and architecture along with museums, galleries, and art centers. Through site-specific installations, atmospheric environments, and two and three-dimensional artwork, we develop projects that emerge from a specific context and are responsive to and reflective of each site. We are inspired by the depth and malleability of light and color, and the relationship of these two materials when brought together. Throughout our work we create projects that bring together the material and immaterial qualities to explore aspects of the natural and constructed worlds around us. As light changes, it alters color perceptions and creates atmospheres that bring once invisible qualities to the surface. By integrating movement, shifting light conditions, and using dynamic color pairings, we push beyond the static to create active forms of expression.
Our practice is constantly evolving with each piece igniting future threads of exploration and shaping our approach. We create dialogues that are responsive and interpretative to the site, conditions, and materials; a reciprocal relationship from which we learn and evolve. At all scales, our explorations are generative, providing new perspectives of the rich dynamics in our world.