Neon signs can be overwhelming walking down the street in Times Square, so they aren’t the first thing you’d expect to see in an art gallery. But fortunately Culture Lab LIC specializes in the unusual, and through May 21 you can see over 70 neon works from 30 artists presented in Luminous: The Art of Neon. The show was curated by Tess Howsam, Artistic Director, and Kenny Greenberg, the owner of Krypton Neon and a long-time LIC resident. “Owning a piece of neon art is like owning lightning captured in glass,” as Tess described the process of creating neon. To make neon, electricity is introduced into glass tubes filled with gasses such as helium or krypton that bang around and give off light in a sustainable process, Kenny explained. Also in the show, neon works by the late Gerry Rose - a former Sunnyside resident and the last neon tube bender for Artkraft Strauss - will be auctioned to benefit Culture Lab. “Gerry and I began as neon artists at the same time and kept in touch throughout the years. I had helped him set up a gallery show so I had taken photos of his art that is currently in our show. When his brother Ronnie Rose contacted me to get advice about how to value his deceased brother’s equipment and art, I suggested auctioning his work to benefit Culture Lab, and being part of the exhibit,” Kenny said. He added that as far as anyone can remember, this is the largest ever neon show in NYC. The show also includes history from the pre-development of the LIC waterfront. “LIC was a wonderfully deserted place with trees, grass and wild dogs. There was always something interesting to find, and usually it was quite rusty.” My wife (artist Diane Hendry) and I would find things and bring them home with the intention to one day do something interesting with them. One of those treasures is the piece titled Gravitas, which is part of the show.