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Indepth Arts News:
"SOL LE WITT: A Retrospective"
2000-02-19 until 2000-05-21
San Francisco Museum of Modern Art
San Francisco, CA,
USA United States of America
Clarity, beauty, playfulness. Simplicity, logic, openness. The words that come to
mind when describing the work of Sol LeWitt resonate with essential aesthetic
and intellectual values. His works are straightforward and legible. Yet, upon
closer observation and consideration, even those that initially appear direct and
obvious reveal complex subtlety in decision-making. Intellectual substance is
paired with visual delight, both of which seep into one's consciousness.
Four decades of LeWitt's work are charted in this exhibition. Wall
drawings--works executed directly on the wall in pencil, crayon, ink washes, and
recently acrylic paint--and structures--the term LeWitt prefers to use for his
three-dimensional works rather than the more traditional term sculpture--form
the core of this overview. Works on paper, including drawings--made primarily in
pencil, ink, and gouache, an opaque, water-based paint--photographs, books,
and posters are included as well. This is a large exhibition but even so catches
only the tip of the iceberg of LeWitt's work, for his production is staggering, with
more than nine hundred wall drawings, hundreds of drawings on paper, and
scores of structures, ranging in size from modest models to human-scale objects
to room-sized installations and monumental, outdoor works.
The exhibition is organized within a generally chronological framework. Works
from 1960 to 1980 are presented in the fourth-floor galleries; works from 1980
to 2000 are presented in the fifth-floor galleries. In addition, new wall drawings
were commissioned for the two large panel walls in the museum atrium, and wall
drawings have been executed in the second and third floor galleries. A recent
structure made from concrete blocks has been built on the outdoor terrace off
the fourth-floor galleries.
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