Another visit up the Hudson line was in order this July… to Dia Beacon, and especially for another look at the Sol LeWitt installation before it’s dismantling in November this year. It has been about a year since I last saw these, and they were as arresting and new to my eye and brain the second time around. On a side note I also loved their positioning in the gallery within eye-shot of the glorious colour ‘blotches’ in Warhol’s screens from the 70s.
Sol LeWitt at Dia:Beacon
LeWitt’s fixation with geometric interplay is beguiling, and especially so to a pattern/surface designer such as myself. His constructs are based around rigidly constrained possibilities – ie. those utilizing only a select number of shapes in formation. It is cathartic to stand and behold the effects on one’s senses, and the rooms in particular are quite entrancing. Surely the human brain is put through a workout that somehow coaxes and trammels an emotional neuron or two.
It is a special show, not only for the inherent factors within the works themselves, but also for the fact that the artist passed away after it’s installation and before the exhibit’s close.
Sol LeWitt at Dia:Beacon geometry