Studios Inc intern Iris Lish recently visited “The Weight of Light” at the UMKC Gallery.
Entering the UMKC gallery space for Leon Jones and Mark Cowardin’s dual show, The Weight of Light, I am greeted by a conventional dining table supporting a large fallen chandelier constructed from an unfinished, raw wood-composite material. (The duo continues Jones’ use of affordable building materials–like Oriental Strand Board–to represent the planned obsolescence within American construction tradition.) The chandelier has fallen, but is still functional; its lights blazing in the dimly lit gallery. The table, too, stands resolute. Parallel, Cut Away hangs on the wall, a relief in the shape of the chandelier’s arms. The surface is a rich black, charred and cut, giving way to raw OSB. The conversation between object and material, positive and negative, and definition and function are incredibly satisfying.
A low hum guides me around the table to the other side of the gallery, where a repurposed chandelier swings back and forth on a mechanical guided rail, at a quicker pace than I would have expected. Although it is fast, it is controlled and predictable. I reflect upon the chandelier as a status symbol, hanging high above within the foyer in the homes of wealthy Americans. The chandelier anchors the right side of the gallery, transforming it into a living space made to feel very traditional, and I am transported to my grandmother’s house in the 1990’s. The walls are covered in portraits–including a painting of Christ’s resurrection, but all of their faces have been obscured, painted a stark white. As I continue on, it doesn’t feel like my grandmother’s house anymore.
With the wall of hidden faces behind me, I catch a clandestine glimpse of a tall, nearly ceiling-height chain-link fence, suggestive of construction sites and other places you are not supposed to go. Within its bounds rests an enormous fallen chandelier–about 10 feet tall– constructed from the same OSB. The chandelier rests precariously at a 45 degree angle, its chain no longer secured high above, but dragging the ground dejectedly. This is The Weight of Light.
The exhibition’s use of raw materials like OSB–traditionally hidden behind drywall–exists as a metaphor for the hidden structures beneath American society–religious doctrine, male supremacy, and racial hierarchy, etc.–that continue to shape modern experience. For Jones and Cowardin, the chandelier as an object signifies the decay of post-war promise. But the table still stands. The 10-foot chandelier has not been crushed under the weight of light. Perhaps we can carry on. Jones and Cowardin ask us to consider our own place within modern American society and how these structures inform our actions within them.
Leon Jones completed his residency at Studios Inc in 2025, culminating in his solo show Camouflaged: Hidden in Plain Sight. He has work in Studios Inc Recent Acquisitions 2025 Exhibition, on view now until October 17, 2026. Mark Cowardin is a Professor and Chair of the Department of Fine Arts, Photo, & Film at JCCC and works out of his studio, 3West, in the historic West Bottoms. He has recently shown at the Beach Museum of Art and the Charlotte Street Foundation.