Mary Lucier At The 'Grey Art Museum'

I had a really great time at the Grey Art Museum — the exhibition truly captured my eye from the moment I walked in. Each piece felt thoughtfully chosen, and the way the artwork was displayed made it easy to get lost in the details and meaning behind every piece. I loved how the space encouraged you to slow down and really take in the creativity and emotion behind the works. The whole experience left me inspired and glad I took the time to visit.

The artwork I chose is Summer, or Grief by Mary Lucier, a beautifully reflective video piece that combines poetic visuals with subtle immersive sounds to explore the feelings of memory, loss, and the quiet weight of passing time. What first attracted me to this work was the way it draws you in with its soft natural imagery, sunlit rooms, shifting shadows, and slow thoughtful camera movements, paired with the gentle ambient sounds that seem to echo the world just beyond the frame. The combination of these sounds, distant birdsong, the rustle of wind, and the quiet hum of life, made the whole experience feel both deeply personal and universally familiar, like standing still inside a moment you never want to end.

I would describe Summer, or Grief as contemplative, atmospheric, and poetic. Each frame feels like a suspended thought, wrapped in soft light and quiet sounds that invite you to drift between memory and emotion.

The formal elements that stood out to me in Summer, or Grief were the thoughtful composition, soft lighting, and slow pacing. Lucier uses empty space, muted colors, and lingering shots to create an atmospheric and contemplative mood. These choices make the work feel like drifting through a quiet, unspoken memory.

Artist: Mary Lucier

Title: Summer, or Grief

Date: 1998

Materials: Single-channel video with sound

The label explains that Summer, or Grief combines quiet, personal video footage with text from Allen Grossman’s poem The Conversation, creating a dialogue between image and language. Learning this helped me understand how the work blends the visual and emotional, making the experience feel like moving through both a memory and a reflection at the same time. It deepened my appreciation for how the piece expresses loss and beauty without ever needing to say it directly.

Summer, or Grief was without a doubt the star of the exhibition. The way it combined soft visuals, thoughtful text, and quiet sound created a space that felt both personal and universal. I found myself completely drawn in, unable to take my eyes off the screen, as each moment seemed to hold a new layer of meaning. The piece stayed with me long after I walked away, and it was the one artwork I kept coming back to in my mind.