Paula Cooper recently presented a sensational installation of Sol LeWitt’s Wall Drawing #564, which was originally conceived for the 1988 Venice Biennale.
Walking into the rear gallery was like entering an old Italian church in which each wall was divided into segments and lavishly painted from floor to ceiling. Instead of depicting religious stories and saints, however, the LeWitt drawing features isolated, multifaceted geometric forms.
Sol LeWitt, Wall Drawing #564 (detail)
According to the press release, LeWitt had moved to Spoleto, Italy, in the late 1970s, and he attributed his transition from graphite pencil or crayon ttoward vivid ink washes to encountering the frescoes of Giotto, Masaccio, and other early Florentine painters. The luminous colors were achieved by superimposing pigments, layer upon wet layer, with ink-soaked rags.
When it comes to rendering the multifaceted geometric form, LeWitt is the master.
“Sol Lewitt: Wall drawing from the 1988 Venice Biennale,” Paula Cooper, Chelsea, New York, NY. Through Octboer 12, 2013.
Related posts:
Triangular: Andrew Seto and Deborah Dancy
My new neighbor: Sol Lewitt’s “Wall Drawing 978” (2009)
Saw a great show of the Wall Drawings at Mass MoCA,a couple of weeks ago. Fabulous is all I can say.