Rainbow Heart, 1965-1967

Japanese artist Ay-O and American musician Terry Riley might have emerged from different edges of the globe, but they share common paths and both express a passion for bringing full spectrum brilliance into the world. In 1961, Riley and Ay-O moved to NYC where they would each encounter Fluxus founder George Maciunus. The art instigator brought them into the fold of his emerging movement helping to expand their appetites for making work that flowed beyond the bounds of what already existed. Maciunus gifted Riley with a harmonium, setting him on a path of exploring improvised, repetitive musical patterns which would help define his signature sound. Riley’s seminal A Rainbow in Curved Air embodies this arc of inspiration where luminous loops hum with freedom. His musical rainbow echoes the visual spectrum of light at the core of Ay-O’s visual output, which the artist has been bending into new forms since the ’60s. Once again the two men find themselves moving along the same wavelength; Riley now also resides in Japan and continues to write music filled with colorful gradients, while Ay-Ō maintains his steady art practice. Perhaps with this confluence of creative energies, we might witness a double rainbow emerging over the Eastern horizon.