It looks simple, almost elementary: Two white rooms with a colored “window” in each. I sit on the long narrow bench across from the geometric ‘opening’ and watch the subtle, imperceptible shifts of light, bluish or pink. The austerity of the space and the works of art imposes silence. “I like the substance, the materiality of light. I shape the spaces in such a way that they seem to freeze it for our perception”, said the American artist James Turrell in an earlier interview.
Spring light fills the streets of Athens, but inside the Gagosian Gallery it is quiet and dark. “We are not made for the midday sun, we are made for the twilight. When the light diminishes, the pupil of the eye dilates, and then we can really feel it,” says the artist. Thus, the windows of the ground floor in the neoclassical building of Kolonaki have been sealed, so that the exhibition “Light of the Presence» to allow us to enjoy two works from the Glass Series (2001–). “Knowing Light» (2007) and the “Rounded Up» (2024) are exhibited in different rooms and the specially designed route – like a narrow path – leads us directly into the light.
Turrell, who turns 81 this year, has spent half a century questioning the conventions of art. While most of his contemporaries work with paint, clay or stone, he is a sculptor of light. When an exhibition of his is being prepared in one of the major international museums – his work can be found in 30 countries of the world – he arrives with his crew, covers the external openings, darkens the spaces and builds a new structure inside creating a labyrinth of rooms and chambers, which he fills with shining shapes of light.
It is no coincidence that he was born in California. He lives and works in Flagstaff, Arizona, fascinated by the landscapes and optical illusions of the American desert. He remains lonely despite his celebrity. Turrell comes from a Quaker family, and that is also his faith. He obtained his pilot’s license when he was 16, perhaps an early indication of his later interest in the skies. There was conscientious objection during the Vietnam War. He studied perceptual psychology, also mathematics, geology and astronomy. The following year he enrolled in the Studio Art graduate program at the University of California, where he began working using light projections, but his studies were interrupted because, as an activist against the Vietnam War, he spent several months in prison. Finally in 1973 he received a Master of Arts from Claremont Graduate University.
Since the 1960s, the artist has been exploring the phenomena of perception, from sensory deprivation to visual effects. He began working with light in 1966, in his studio in Ocean Park, California, and his early works, such as ‘Afrum-Proto’ (1966) which use light fields in relation to architectural structures, formed the basis of an ongoing reflection in handling the built and natural environment. With many decades of research under his belt, he still uses light as his primary subject and material. At the level of form, he creates simple works that use new technology to explore the limits of vision and lead to meditative states.
“We are made for twilight. When the light diminishes, the pupil of the eye dilates and then we can really feel it.”
From neon to LED
“I had an interest in art, but my first interest was actually light. I have always been fascinated by light. There are children who love fire, and that’s why they want to be firefighters. But if you love the light, what should you do?”, he has asked himself in the past. The answer lies in his work. Having initially incorporated neon into his Glass Series works, Turrell has over the past fifteen years turned to computer-programmable LED panel technology allowing for richer hues and lower light levels.
“Knowing Light” and “Rounded Up” hosted at the Gagosian Gallery feature fields of light viewed by the viewer through geometric “windows.” As their color changes slowly, these surfaces create alternating impressions, sometimes giving the impression that they are flat and others that they have depth, playing with the way we perceive space. As an avid craftsman and lover of massive structures – his notebooks are full of architectural scribbles – he maintains that everything must be done technically flawlessly so that no one notices the construction. “All you have to see is the light,” he comments.
Exhibition duration until 25/5
