A monumental figure in the California Light and Space movement, Irwin made innovations across painting, sculpture, and installation-based work over the course of nearly seven decades, expanding the contours of the canon and continually pushing the limits of what art can be.
Through his influential and experimental practice—marked by both scientific and philosophical rigor—he proposed a new kind of art making centering on phenomenology and subjectivity as subjects unto themselves. Through his profound artistic inventions that make use of light and space as key materials, he cultivated a reputation as a visionary figure at the vanguard of what is known today as experiential art.
Robert Irwin, untitled (dawn to dusk), 2016. Permanent collection, The Chinati Foundation,Marfa, Texas. Photo by Alex Marks, courtesy of The Chinati Foundation © 2023 Robert Irwin / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York.
Irwin first exhibited with Pace in 1966, presenting his dot paintings at the gallery’s West 57th Street space in New York. He would go on to mount some 20 solo shows with Pace, maintaining a close friendship with the gallery’s Founder and Chairman Arne Glimcher for almost 60 years. His legacy is deeply felt within and beyond Pace’s program, and his influence can be traced in the work of James Turrell, Mary Corse, Larry Bell, Keith Sonnier, Peter Alexander, and other artists who emerged from the Light and Space movement, as well as many figures of subsequent generations.
Main Image : Robert Irwin
Anna Melnykova, "Palace of Labor (palats praci), architector I. Pretro, 1916", shot with analog Canon camera, 35 mm Fuji film in March 2022.
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