Sol LeWitt
Sol LeWitt was born on September 9, 1928, in Hartford, a city where he spent his early years before going on to study at Syracuse University. A citizen of the United States, LeWitt would come to be associated with two of the most significant artistic movements of the twentieth century: Minimalism and conceptual art.
Over the course of his career, LeWitt worked across a notably wide range of practices, operating at various times as a sculptor, painter, draftsperson, photographer, collagist, muralist, and illustrator. His work fell consistently within the genre of abstract art. Among his notable works are "Four-Sided Pyramid," "Whirls and Twirls (MTA)," and "Tall Irregular Progression. A les Víctimes del terrorisme," three pieces that together reflect the variety of forms and contexts in which he worked throughout his life.
LeWitt died on April 8, 2007, in New York City, at the age of seventy-eight. His name is recorded in the Library of Congress Name Authority File under the authorized label "LeWitt, Sol, 1928–2007."
Quotes by Sol LeWitt
Sol LeWitt's insights on:
I didn’t want to save art – I respected the older artists too much to think art needed saving. But I knew it was finished, even though, at that time, I didn’t know what I would do.
I was not interested in irony; I wanted to emphasize the primacy of the idea in making art.
I believe that the artist’s involvement in the capitalist structure is disadvantageous to the artist and forces him to produce objects in order to live.
A work of art may be understood as a conductor from the artist’s mind to the viewer’s. But it may never reach the viewer, or it may never leave the artist’s mind.
Your work isn’t a high stakes, nail-biting professional challenge. It’s a form of play. Lighten up and have fun with it.
An architect doesn’t go off with a shovel and dig his foundation and lay every brick. He’s still an artist.