Irregular Form
LeWitt believed that the intention behind any work of art surpasses the work of art itself, a philosophical outlook that fundamentally altered the public’s perception of post-War art.
Sol LeWitt
United States, 1928
Sol LeWitt (b. 1928) was an American artist, who, through his paintings, installations, photography and printmaking, was a pioneer in both the Conceptual art movement and Minimalism in the 1960s. Throughout his career, he published over 50 books and became known as the first to publish ‘artist’s books’ in the traditional sense in which they exist today. LeWitt’s works can be found in some of the most prestigious galleries and museum collections, including The Hague, The MoMA, Tate Modern, Guggenheim Museum and a long list of regional institutions all over the world. LeWitt believed that the intention behind any work of art surpasses the work of art itself, a philosophical outlook that fundamentally altered the public’s perception of post-War art.
LeWitt’s vivid and disorientating gouache paintings are a scrambled alternative to the work of Bridget Riley and very much in tune with the painterly use of colour amongst his contemporaries in the late 20th century, such as Keith Haring, Andy Warhol, and David Hockney. In his more obviously Minimalist work, LeWitt manipulates the properties of gouache in what were unprecedented ways to add a busy texture to the pieces. With even the most pared-back palette and composition, his works possess a frantic vitality that LeWitt achieves through this pliable medium.