Artist Austine Wood Comarow developed “polage” — short for polarized collage — an art medium without pigments. Instead, it draws color from the visible light spectrum, using polarized filters and birefringent materials (meaning they have double refractive qualities) such as cellophane to create elaborate visuals. From the bright underwater hues of “Seahorses” to “Canyon Ghosts,” a homage to Hoover Dam’s builders, her work reveals vivid imagery when viewed through a polarized filter or in a motorized light box. She spent more than 50 years honing her artistry.
Following Austine’s sudden passing in 2020, her husband, David, and daughters, Erika Wood and Cara Wood Ginder, continue to refine the technique she entrusted to them. In 2019, Cara’s daughter Charlotte began her apprenticeship, ushering the family’s legacy into its third generation. They established Lightread Studios to carry it on.
For the first time, works by Austine, Cara, Erika, and Charlotte will appear together in the exhibition Three Generations of Polage Art: An Exploration of Austine Studios’ Polarized Light Art, at the Sahara West Library from February 6 to May 2. Austine’s work comes full circle, returning to the same building it graced nearly 20 years ago, when the Las Vegas Art Museum shared the space with the library.
In 1976, Austine and her husband moved to Boulder City, where they opened an art studio in 1986, and Cara worked as a manager. There, they made everything from individual pieces to large installations, including the 25-by-27-foot mural called “Human Connections” at the Boston Museum of Science, which traces the history of communication from stone carvings to satellites.
For more than 25 years, Maui Jim sunglasses commissioned a trove of artworks from the studio. After Austine’s passing, another owner took over Maui Jim, ending their partnership. This opened the door for the studio to undertake new ventures with other luxury eyewear brands such as Ray-Ban and Serengeti.
Celebrating their mother’s life, Austine’s daughters are making a portrait of their mother inspired by a photo of her from the ’60s, sitting and looking at a glass, but with a modern twist — swapping the drink with a smartphone.
“I’m excited about this portrait of our mom because Erika’s designing it, laying it out, and then sending me the drawing,” Cara says. “I’ll fabricate it by hand like I did when I collaborated with Mom.”
Erika hopes the exhibition encourages people to learn about their mother and the medium she invented. “What I love about this medium is the power it has to engage people and make them feel like they are a part of the art,” she says.
Inspired by the Las Vegas landscape, Cara rendered a series of neon signs, including for El Cortez Hotel and Casino. Polage does what pigment can’t do, she pointed out, because it isn’t paint — it’s light, catching one’s eye like it naturally does.
Over the years, polage has grown and changed. Austine’s work animates nature, while Cara’s art depicts urban realism. Erika crafts portraits with gem-like patterns. With a fresh eye, Charlotte experiments with photorealism.
“It was cool being raised by artists,” Charlotte says. “It gave me a completely different way of seeing the world and really opened my mind.”
Darren Johnson, the Library District’s gallery services manager, noted that extraordinary women have always contributed to the arts, but people haven’t always acknowledged them.
“Polage is still an under-recognized art form — not just in Las Vegas, but globally,” Johnson says. “It’s fitting that the brightest city on earth would help spotlight a medium that is literally activated by light. Cara, Erika, and Charlotte are making exciting changes within the business. This exhibition gives them an opportunity to share new developments and showcase their evolving practice as they step into the next chapter of polage’s story.”
Cara aspires to create more public artworks, including an interactive scavenger hunt for a children’s museum. “At first, it would seem like nothing is there, and then, when you look through a polarized filter, a lizard appears.”
