Object Information

Born in Latvia, Vija Celmins survived World War II and in 1948 came to Indianapolis, where she resided until moving to Los Angeles in 1962 to study art. Since the early 1970s, Celmins has produced exacting depictions of expansive phenomena such as ocean waves, deserts, the moon’s surface, and star-studded night skies—the latter derived from satellite photographs. With jewellike imagery and a suggestion of vastness, Night Sky #2 is at once romantic and unsettling. Without the anchor of a horizon or a humanly scaled reference point, viewers may find it difficult to determine their relationship to the image. As a result, they may feel simultaneously engaged and distanced in the presence of this mesmerizing view.