Adam Frank is an artist, inventor, and product designer. His body of work represents an ongoing investigation of light, interactivity and our perception of nature. Adam’s work uses new techniques to add natural lighting effects to the modern built environment.
Adam has created three product lines that use light in new ways. LUMEN, a shadow casting oil lamp, is currently sold at MoMA Store. REVEAL is a small projector that implies the presence of a real window by simulating sunlight entering through an imaginary window. LUCID is a new type of mirror that places a luminous 3D image inside the perceived space of a reflected image. MoMA Store has named LUCID as the top-selling item of 2016. All of Adam’s products are made in the USA.
Adam is currently producing artwork that directly utilizes his unique expertise in projected environments, optical devices, and interactivity. At Eyebeam, a new media arts lab in Chelsea NYC, Adam produced an interactive artwork using real-time, autonomous characters. This work was selected to represent the United States in an exhibition at the Athens Summer Olympic Games 2004. He has been awarded a NYFA Grant, a NYSCA grant and was a Yaddo fellow.
Adam has completed a commission for The City of Denver for an outdoor, permanent public installation. Each night, as the sun sets in Denver, a projected sun rises on a building downtown. As the night progresses, the shining star climbs up to the top of the east facade. The projection continues throughout the night and sets as the actual sun rises. This light mural is entirely solar powered by panels installed for this project.
In October of 2009, Adam installed two outdoor works in New York City, one in Bowling Green Park and one on the facade of the New York Stock Exchange. In 2011, Adam installed an interactive installation in Times Square, New York. In 2012, Adam was named the Seattle City Light Conservation & Sustainability Artist-in-Residence. During this residency, he produced a large-scale artwork for the City of Seattle featuring their hydroelectric power sources. This work of light is a projected, living map of Seattle’s hydroelectric generation and electricity use.
In 2013 Adam completed a large-scale commission to install eight artworks in Eskenazi Health, Indianapolis IN. This signature work displays optically accurate shadows of native trees in eight elevator lobbies of the new hospital. The layered tree shadows imply the presence of real trees just beyond the glass surface of floor to ceiling light boxes. ARBOR was recognized for excellence by The Americans for the Arts 2014 Public Art Network Year in Review. This was one of the first times the honor was awarded to a hospital installation.
In September 2015, Adam installed an interactive artwork on a sidewalk in Bankside, London. This work was sponsored by the Tate Modern and the local Business Improvement District. This installation was first installed in Times Square NYC.
In 2016, Adam installed a monumental scale LUCID Mirror in the lobby of the new Two Trees building, 300 Ashland, in downtown Brooklyn. This cultural, residential and commercial high-rise is the new home of BAM Cinema screens and the Brooklyn Apple Store. Also in 2016, Adam Frank Incorporated was selected by the City of Paris and The City of New York to participate in the first NYC/Paris Business Exchange Program. This new program from the Mayor's’ offices, the New York City Economic Development Corporation and Paris & Co, assists ten local businesses in expanding into the alternate city. Adam was the representative product designer and public artist selected.
In 2018, Adam was awarded a commission from the City of San Diego for a permanent, large-scale, site-specific, new media art installation. This work will be installed at Presidio Park, known as the ‘birthplace’ of California. Adam was also awarded a commission from Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center and has just received a large commission for a permanent interactive artwork on the facade of the new Ottawa Art Gallery.
