A Light Touch

A fine artist is a master manipulator of light, color, form and texture. Neon sculptor Michael Flechtner also needs the skills of a chemist, electrician and carpenter. The only trait his whimsical creations share with the universally familiar neon signs is their unearthly glow.

“The truth is that neon is not always a sign,” he chides. Nor must the artist’s imagination stop with “that ubiquitous glowing cactus in a pot, palm tree, flamingo or telephone.”

Bending colorful glass tubing over a 1,700-degree flame, he coaxes it into intriguing designs sketched on a fireproof layout sheet, then purges it of air and impurities with a vacuum pump and an 18,000-volt bombardment of electricity.

Only then does he add the magic ingredients from his ethereal palette: Neon produces the familiar red-orange. Argon creates pale lavender, but add a drop of mercury and it glows electric blue. Krypton makes a silvery white light; helium, a warm pink; xexon, a pale blue wisp. Flechtner has been invited to exhibit in Europe, Japan, Canada and across the United States, including the Museum of Neon Art at CityWalk. His work is currently featured with David Svenson’s at the Wignall Museum/Gallery in Rancho Cucamonga.