The Lyman Allyn Art Museum opens a new exhibition by conceptual artist, sculptor and composer Aaron Taylor Kuffner. "Encountering Resonance: Aaron Taylor Kuffner’s Gamelatron" will open Saturday and be on view through May 23.

A Gamelatron is a sound-producing kinetic sculpture presented as site-specific installations and stand-alone art works. Based on the Indonesian music tradition known as gamelan, they are made from bronze and iron instruments that are retrofitted with mechanical mallets on sculptural mounts. The elegant sculptures are connected to a computer that transmits digital compositions into an array of electrical pulsations, resulting in a ghostly, musical automaton.

While living for several years in Java and Bali, Kuffner learned to play the gamelan, researched the process of making the instruments, cataloged various tuning modalities and developed his own electronic notation system, all the while gleaning gamelan’s cultural and spiritual significance. Shortly after returning to New York in 2008, he was awarded an Artist in Residency with renowned engineer and technologist Eric Singer at the League of Electronic Musical Urban Robots.

The instruments used in "Gamelatrons" are archival, made by Kuffner or commissioned from master craftsmen in Java and Bali. All compositions are written and performed by Kuffner, and the scores are unique for every Gamelatron, and often composed after installation.

The virtual opening reception is 6-7 p.m. Friday.

The museum, located at 625 Williams St., New London, is open 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Tues.-Sat. and 1-5 p.m. Sun. Calll (860) 443-2545 or visit www.lymanallyn.org.