Image description: The image is a poster advertising an exhibition. The predominant color is vibrant yellow. On the left, there is a logo made up of black triangles and geometric shapes. In the center is the title "ANOS-LUZ" in black letters, with horizontal and vertical strokes creating a light effect. On the right, in black, it reads "Installation by Bia Lessa," followed by the dates "29/08 to 16/11" and "MAM Rio."Light, the company responsible for bringing electric power to millions of people in Rio de Janeiro, celebrates its 120th anniversary with the art installation Anos-Luz, by director and multi-artist Bia Lessa. The exhibition will open on August 29, 2025, at the Museu de Arte Moderna do Rio de Janeiro (MAM Rio), sponsored by the utility company and produced by the Rio Memórias association. Admission is free.
The installation was designed especially for the architectural space of MAM Rio, where the various immersive spaces of light and elements of the exhibition design are connected by elastic lines that simulate electrical grid wires and vibrate, representing connections or links.
The installation occupies 1,845 m² of space, using 65,000 meters of elastic, 42 projectors, and an unprecedented work by the Rio-born visual artist, writer and professor Milton Machado, measuring 18 meters long and 7 meters wide. Part of the installation also occupies the museum's outdoor area, on the pilotis.
An installation honoring that invisible force which guides our days and our history
“Celebrating 120 years of lighting up 31 municipalities in the state of Rio de Janeiro is a source of pride for all of us at Light. When we sponsor Anos-Luz, we reaffirm our commitment to culture, sustainable development, and the strengthening of carioca and fluminense identity,” highlights Alexandre Nogueira, the company's CEO, who adds: “The beauty of Bia Lessa's work poetically conveys energy as this central element that the company provides and that transforms people's lives.”
In addition to honoring the company's history, the work reinforces the importance of art as a tool for connection: “Light is a company that has historically invested in the development of the state and its population. Projects like this one inspire us to keep connecting energy, technology, and culture for the sake of an increasingly sustainable and inclusive future,” highlights Nogueira.
About the exhibition
Anos-Luz is an installation born from the tension between light, shadow, and time. Light — that field which reveals — does not merely illuminate, but defines the visible. Darkness — that territory of suspension — does not merely conceal, but invites other ways of seeing.
Recognized for her innovative and transdisciplinary approach, Bia Lessa is a director of theater, opera, film, and exhibitions. For Lessa, “between the excess of light and the emptiness of darkness, between the everything that blinds and the nothing that silences, there is an almost infinite interval: an in-between place where the perception of time thickens, takes on flesh. Inspired by the silent power of technology - the process is branched, running across vast distances, thousands of miles vibrating; it crosses walls and reaches, on the tenth floor, an apartment suspended in the air - the work evokes this domesticated energy, converted into electricity, present in millions of spaces at the same time.”
This installation proposes a gesture of listening. An invitation to the space of the “in-between” — that gap where the boundaries between what is shown and what is hidden fray. It is in this flow of doubles that the experience unfolds: the visible and the invisible; that which disappears in the light, which blinds, and that which brings into appearance, emerging from the dark, which reveals itself as living matter.
The installation engages with traces and echoes: the geometry of Lygia Pape's Ttéia; the intelligence of Jac Leirner's Little Lights; and the images of Serguei Eisenstein, Glauber Rocha, Oswaldo Goeldi — artists for whom light and shadow are also thought, language, existence.
é uma alegria receber Anos-Luz, de Bia Lessa, no MAM Rio, em parceria com o Rio Memórias e a Light. O espaço expositivo do museu situado sobre o pilotis será completamente transformado por uma instalação que cria uma experiência imersiva. Acreditamos que Anos-Luz atrairá novos públicos ao museu, ampliando nossa missão de ser um espaço dinâmico e acessível
Service Information Season: August 29 to November 16, 2025 Location: Museu de Arte Moderna do Rio de Janeiro (MAM Rio) Address: Av. Infante Dom Henrique, 85 - Aterro do Flamengo, Rio de Janeiro Phone: (21) 3883-5600 Website: www.mam.rio Instagram: @mam.rio Visiting hours: Wednesdays, Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays, Sundays and holidays, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. On Sundays, from 10 a.m. to 11 a.m., exclusive visiting hours for people with intellectual disabilities Free admission.
LIGHT-YEARS
Direction: Bia Lessa With sound interventions: Dany Roland Guest artist: Milton Machado Light design: Alessandra Domingues, Carlos Zebulun and Juliana Ayako Architecture: Camila Toleto
Content coordination: Maria Borba Content contributors: Flora Sussekind, Luiz Alberto Oliveira, Felipe Sussekind and Carlito Azevedo Graphic design: Ton Zaranza Image editing: Ana Paula Carvalho Image research: Antonio Venancio Production direction: Camilla Ribeiro Assistant direction: José Mekler Set construction: Galpão 600 (Ricardo Garcia and Rostand Albuquerque), Administration: Eduardo Correia
Legal advisory: Eduardo Senna
The Anos-Luz exhibition is produced by Rio Memórias and sponsored by Light, the Government of the State of Rio de Janeiro, and the State Secretariat of Culture and Creative Economy, through the State Law for the Incentive of Culture.
About Light
Present in 31 municipalities of the state of Rio de Janeiro, including the entire Metropolitan Region, Light is one of the largest energy distributors in Brazil. Every day, around 11.6 million people – more than 70% of the population of RJ – fulfill dreams, build plans, enjoy important moments, and head out to work with the energy carried by the company, which has just turned 120 years old and has its history intertwined with the development of the state.
With a team of 11,000 direct and indirect professionals and constant investment in cutting-edge equipment and technology for the maintenance of its network, Light monitors its entire coverage area in real time in order to provide an efficient, high-quality service.
About MAM Rio
Inaugurated in 1948, the Museum of Modern Art of Rio de Janeiro is a national and international reference in modern and contemporary art. Located in the iconic building designed by Affonso Eduardo Reidy, with gardens by Roberto Burle Marx, the museum hosts exhibitions, courses, film screenings and various cultural activities, in addition to housing an extensive art collection.
About Rio Memórias
Founded in 2019, Rio Memórias is a social organization dedicated to promoting the history and culture of the city of Rio de Janeiro. Rio Memórias is sponsored by Norsul, Kasznar Leonardos, Impulso, and the Ministry of Culture through the Cultural Incentive Law, by Light and the Government of the State of Rio de Janeiro and the State Secretariat of Culture and Creative Economy through the State Cultural Incentive Law, and by the City Hall of Rio de Janeiro, the Municipal Secretariat of Culture, Banco BTG Pactual, and Elogroup through the Municipal Cultural Incentive Law – ISS Law.
Image description: The image is a poster with a yellow background. From left to right, there are logos and text in black. It begins with "Sponsorship" followed by the "Light" logo with the number "120" and a lightning bolt icon. Next is the text "Secretariat of Culture and Creative Economy" and the "Rio de Janeiro State Government" logo. Following that is the text "Production" followed by the "Memórias" logo and the text "+2/3". Finally, there is the text "Partnership" followed by the "Museum of Modern Art Rio de Janeiro" logo.
