ART FILE 24 | 'James Turrell' | From the Series 'Global Art Exhibitions'
ART FILE 24 | New York, USA | Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum
Unique Spaces by the "Architect of Light"
James Turrell (1)
Until September 25 (Wed), a solo exhibition by American artist James Turrell is being held at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, a center for modern and contemporary art located in New York City. This is the first solo exhibition by Turrell in New York since 1980.
Text by Winsome Li (OPENERS)
"seeing yourself seeing"
James Turrell creates various installations by manipulating natural light, color, space, and human perception, with the theme of "awareness of the presence of light." He gained high acclaim in the late 1960s for his expressions of the materiality of light, becoming a representative artist of contemporary art. He utilized installations to broadly express the visual and emotional power of light.
Through his art, Turrell has, in a sense, taught us anew about the presence of light.
In daily life, light serves to illuminate objects and places, but its own presence is rarely recognized. Turrell, however, uses light as a material to create tangible forms. His works do not have a focal point like an object or a photograph, so viewers perceive them in their own way. This process naturally revives our perception of light. It leads us to a state of observing our own consciousness, what Turrell calls "seeing yourself seeing."
The exhibition features early works such as "Afrum I (White)" and "lltar (1976)," as well as the newly created large-scale installation "Aten Reign (2013)." This piece illuminates the Guggenheim Museum's iconic rotunda, designed by the renowned architect Frank Lloyd Wright. Natural light streams into the museum through the skylight, and combined with the massive LED and conical structure installed within, it creates five elliptical forms of light suspended in the air. Turrell has reinterpreted Frank Lloyd Wright's masterful design with a novel presentation, describing the work as "architectural space constructed with light."
ART FILE 24 | New York, USA | Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum
Unique Spaces by the "Architect of Light"
James Turrell (2)
Text by Winsome Li (OPENERS)
A Deserted Volcano Becomes the Ultimate Art Project
The structure of "Aten Reign" is said to be inspired by James Turrell's largest land art project, "Roden Crater." Located outside Flagstaff, Arizona, "Roden Crater" is an art project currently under construction, transforming a dormant volcano. "Roden Crater," which stands 600 feet above the surrounding desert, is being converted into an exhibition space and naked-eye observatory, featuring light installations linked to natural light, the sun, and celestial phenomena. A model and blueprints of "Roden Crater" are also on display in this exhibition.
Additionally, the following video was produced by the Guggenheim Museum for this exhibition. It not only shows the exhibition but also features James Turrell himself discussing his art.
James Turrell
Venue | Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York
Dates | June 21 (Fri) - September 25 (Wed)
Hours | 10:00 - 17:45 (Until 19:45 on Saturdays)
Closed | Thursdays
Admission | $22.75
Address | 1071 Fifth Avenue New York, NY 10128-0173
Tel. +1-212-423-3500
www.guggenheim.org