The neon sculptures in the Fluid Form (2023) series evoke bodies of water and the currents of flowing energy. Water is often associated with the concept of the collective unconscious and the hidden depths of the human psyche. The symbolism of flooding evokes the idea of unexplored emotions, memories or aspects of the self that surge to the surface, inviting exploration and understanding of the unconscious realms. Currents represent the dynamic, continuous movement of water. Symbolizing the passage of time and the constant flow of energy, currents are a reminder that life is in a state of flux. “Currents also symbolize the importance of emotional and spiritual fluidity, allowing us to navigate and embrace the depths of our being,” the artist emphasizes. “Currents represent the ebb and flow of our emotional states, the depth and power of our feelings and the free expression of our inner selves.” Sculpting with light, Le’s compositions emerge and flow into an undulating, biomorphic dance. They are rife with allusions to the feminine: baby’s milk and feminine body fluids during arousal and periods. Le believes that the feminine is linked to the flood of abundance and to nature's cycle of birth and rebirth.

Made in a glass shop in Brooklyn, the neon glass is hand blown by Le, whose body movements determine the forms. An intensely intuitive process–heating and bending the glass tubes into unique shapes and breathing air into the tubes by mouth–conveys a feeling intrinsic to Le’s aesthetic sensibility: the delicate balance between life and play. Even though neon is solidly located in a twentieth-century landscape of consumption, the process gestures towards the medieval practice of alchemy—the transmutation of gas and metal through flame. The density of meaning behind neon—social, psychological, historical and mystical—adds an aspect of tension to Le’s sculptures. The excess of content is at odds with the simplicity of the final form. The transformation of elemental materials and the sheer physicality of production imbue the work with a bodily and psychic presence. “It’s about life and playfulness, showing life-giving forces in a dark world,” she has stated.

Annesta Le is a multimedia artist living and working in Brooklyn, NY. Le left the University of Texas, where she was studying computer science, and, following intensive work with a Jungian psychoanalyst and a life-altering visit to the Brazilian rainforest, she shifted from occasional drawing and painting at home to a rigorous studio practice. As the daughter of Vietnamese immigrants, the work of positioning herself vis a vis society and finding ways to translate her inner life is an ongoing process reflected in her work in ways that are—like any human subject—constantly undergoing change. Her work can be divided into two very different and occasionally overlapping practices: sculpting in illuminated neon and drawing on paper and canvas. Le has exhibited in New York, Chicago and Turin, among other cities. She is the recipient of a grant from the Peter S. Reed Foundation and has been featured in publications such as Slow + Sustain magazine, Art Master, Vogue and Fortuna magazine, Japan.