The Renaissance Society at the University of Chicago, Illinois
Literature
Gary Garrels, Sol Lewitt: A Retrospective, exh. cat., San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, 2000, p. 365, fig. 385
Catalogue Essay
Located on the campus of The University of Chicago, The Renaissance Society is an independent, non-collecting contemporary art museum founded in 1915 and is one of the country's oldest institutions devoted to the promotion of progressive visual arts. Since 1997 The Renaissance Society has published editions by prominent contemporary artists including John Baldessari, Jenny Holzer, Kara Walker, and Sol Le Witt.
Connected to the Conceptual and Minimalist art movements of the 1960s and '70s, the artist and theorist Sol LeWitt was a pivotal figure in driving 'idea' art into the mainstream art discourse. Redefining what constituted a work of art and its genesis, LeWitt explored these ideas through wall drawings, paintings, sculptures, works on paper and prints.
Using a prescription to direct the creation of a work, the artist's hand subordinated to the artist's thoughts, in direct contrast to the Abstract Expressionist movement earlier in the century. Actions, forms and adjectives were broken down into terms, serially repeated and reconfigured: grids, lines, shapes, color, directions and starting points are several examples. These directives and constructs fueled an influential career of vast variety, subtlety and progression.
1998 Patinated steel, glass. 30 1/4 x 113 3/4 x 46 1/2 in. (76.8 x 288.9 x 118.1 cm.) Produced for The Renaissance Society, USA. From the edition of ten.