Sol LeWitt, Wall Drawing #1136
Sol LeWitt – Wall Drawing #1136
  • 1 Sol LeWitt's Wall Drawings
    • 1.1 1,350 Wall Drawings in four decades
    • ane.2 Why did Sol LeWitt let others pigment his ideas?
    • ane.3 The different types of Wall Drawings
    • ane.4 Sol LeWitt: Anyone can do fine art
  • two Sol LeWitt's instructions
    • 2.1 Instructions open to interpretation
    • ii.ii What the instructions entailed
  • 3 Nigh the Artist
    • 3.1 Why is Sol LeWitt important?
    • iii.2 Video: How did Sol LeWitt piece of work?
  • 4 Wall Drawings
    • 4.ane 1970s
    • iv.2 1980s
    • 4.3 1990s
    • 4.iv 2000s

Sol LeWitt'south Wall Drawings

one,350 Wall Drawings in four decades

Over the class of his prolific and influential career, Sol LeWitt (1928–2007) produced approximately i,350 wall drawings, comprising approximately 3,500 installations at more than than i,200 venues.

Sol LeWitt – Instructions for a Pyramid, Galería OMR, Mexico City, 2022
Sol LeWitt – Instructions for a Pyramid, Galería OMR, Mexico Metropolis, 2022
Why did Sol LeWitt let others pigment his ideas?

Early in his career, Sol LeWitt began to accept others help execute his wall drawings. Wall Drawing 16 was starting time drawn past a draftsman, which helped LeWitt realize his piece of work according to his instructions and diagrams, addressing applied concerns such as the fourth dimension-consuming nature of the drawings.

More significantly, nonetheless, this choice articulated LeWitt'southward conventionalities that the formulation of the idea, rather than its execution, constitutes the artwork. He also rejected the traditional importance assigned to the artist'due south own hand.

The creative person executed the primeval wall drawings within a square, usually 4 by 4 feet (122 10 122 cm) wide, but by 1969 he was using the entire wall, starting with Wall Drawing sixteen.

Sol LeWitt – Wall Drawing #16, September 1969, Black pencil, Bands of lines 12 inches (30 cm) wide, in three directions (vertical, horizontal, diagonal right) intersecting.
Sol LeWitt – Wall Drawing #16, September 1969, Black pencil, Bands of lines 12 inches (30 cm) wide, in iii directions (vertical, horizontal, diagonal right) intersecting.
The different types of Wall Drawings

Forms may appear to be flat, recede into infinite, or project into the viewer'south space, while others meld into the construction of the wall itself. The drawings range from:

  • Layers of straight lines meticulously fatigued in black graphite pencil lead
  • Rows of delicately rendered wavy lines in colored pencil
  • Assuming blackness-and-white geometric forms
  • Brilliant planes in acrylic paint arranged like panels of a folding screen
  • Sensuous drawings created past dozens of layers of transparent washes
  • A tangle of vibratory orangish lines on a green wall
  • And many more
Sol Lewitt - Exhibition Pyramides, Marian Goodman, Paris, Nov 17, 2022 – Jan 19, 2022
Sol Lewitt – Installation view, Pyramides, Marian Goodman, Paris, Nov 17, 2022 – Jan nineteen, 2022
Sol LeWitt: Anyone can do art

Since Sol LeWitt did not like public speaking, when he visited and lectured at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston in 1971, he did not desire to lecture the students and instead opted to create a drawing with them. The wall drawing that ensued, as a result, included poetic-styled instructions for a wall drawing.

Sol LeWitt thought that anyone could practise art, just the quality depended on the thought from which art was generated. Equally such, writing downward instructions for interpretation to create their own version of a wall drawing was an important role of the creating process.

Sol LeWitt – Lines of One Inch, Four Directions, Four Colours (set of 16), 1971
Sol LeWitt – Lines of Ane Inch, 4 Directions, Four Colours (set of 16), 1971, Lithograph on paper, 35,half-dozen x 35,six cm

Sol LeWitt's instructions

Early in his career, Sol LeWitt started using the instructions to ascertain his incredible conceptual wall drawings, representing the ideas that became a piece of work of fine art in itself.

Following the idea of conceptualism or conceptual art 1 where the main business concern is the creative person's ideas, Sol LeWitt started his wall drawings with an idea put into words as instructions. Sol LeWitt focused on the concept over construction and hence created his most renowned instruction-based artworks.

Instructions open to estimation

Based on this focus, Sol LeWitt believed that the creative person's idea was a piece of work of art in itself and could exist considered a blueprint such every bit that adult by an architect and based on the idea, other people could interpret information technology and make it.

He transformed the artistic procedure elements into works of art themselves. His most recognizable series, his wall drawings, are an installation created from his unique instructions. The instructions were non as precise equally blueprints simply were open to interpretation past creators.

What the instructions entailed

Sol LeWitt'southward instructions consisted of directions for the production of a piece of work of art itself and a refined vocabulary of visual art hinting at architectural specifications and mathematical equations. As such, the directions also included basic colors, lines and simplified shapes employed according to his ain invented formulae.

The instructions were relatively elementary and since they are open to estimation, no two artworks created by different artists based on the same instructions past Sol LeWitt are the aforementioned.

Nigh the Artist

Sol LeWitt was a renowned American conceptual creative person and painter, born in 1928 and died in 2007. Best known for his colorful Wall Drawings, which is an exploration between the architecture and the work itself, he prided himself in the creation of art, not in its pregnant or material conception.

He served in the Korean War and after opened a studio in NYC working at Seventeen magazine ii to explore his interest in creating designs.

Portrait of Sol LeWitt with cat
Portrait of Sol LeWitt with cat
Why is Sol LeWitt important?

LeWitt, who stressed the idea behind his work over its execution, is widely regarded every bit ane of the leading exponents of Minimalism and Conceptual fine art and is known primarily for his deceptively simple geometric structures and architecturally scaled wall drawings.

His experiments with the latter commenced in 1968 and were considered radical considering this new form of drawing was purposely temporary and due to the collaborative chemical element.

Video: How did Sol LeWitt work?

Sol LeWitt how he worked and what kind of human being he was, equally remembered by his former assistant Jeremy Zieman and the curator of the Sol Lewitt Drove, Janet Passehl.

4 min 2 sec

Wall Drawings

1970s
Sol LeWitt - Wall Drawing #122 (1972)
Sol LeWitt – Wall Drawing #122, 1972, Black pencil grid, blue crayon arcs and lines, Paula Cooper Gallery, New York
Sol LeWitt - Wall Drawing 238
Sol LeWitt – Wall Drawing #238, June 1974, Black pencil and blackness crayon, LeWitt Drove, Chester, Connecticut
Sol LeWitt - Wall Drawing
Sol LeWitt – Wall Drawing #260 at San Francisco Museum of Fine art, 1975, photo: Rudy Bender
Sol LeWitt, Wall Drawing #260
Sol LeWitt – Wall Cartoon #260, 1975
Sol LeWitt - Wall Drawing 280
Sol LeWitt – Wall Drawing #280, 1976
A vi-inch (15cm) grid covering a yellow wall. Bluish lines from the 4 corners, reddish lines from the midpoints of the four sides, white lines from the heart to points on the grid.
1980s
Sol LeWitt, Wall Drawing 340, July 1980
Sol LeWitt – Wall Cartoon #340, July 1980
Sol LeWitt - Wall Drawing 343A,B,C,D,E,F
Sol LeWitt – Wall Drawing #343A,B,C,D,E,F, December 1980, white crayon on blackness wall
Sol LeWitt - Wall Drawing 343G
Sol LeWitt – Wall Drawing #343 G, December 1980, white crayon on black wall
Sol LeWitt Wall Drawing #354, 1981 ink, Basel Foto- Fabio Fabbrini, courtesy of Fondation Beyeler.jpg
Sol LeWitt – Wall Cartoon #354, 1981, ink, installation view, Fondation Beyeler, Basel, Switzerland, photo: Fabio Fabbrini
Sol LeWitt, Wall Drawing #346
Sol LeWitt – Wall Drawing #346, 1981, republic of india ink
Sol Lewitt - Wall Drawing #356 BB, Cube Without a Cube
Sol LeWitt – Wall Drawing #356 BB, Cube Without a Cube, 1981, ink
Sol LeWitt, Wall Drawing #366
Sol LeWitt – Wall Drawing #366, 1982
Sol LeWitt, Wall Drawing #368
Sol LeWitt – Wall Drawing #368, 1982
Sol LeWitt, Wall Drawing #370, installation view in Gallery 399 at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, August, 2022
Sol LeWitt, Wall Cartoon #370, 1982, installation view, Gallery 399 at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Baronial, 2022
Sol LeWitt, Wall Drawing #370
Sol LeWitt, Wall Drawing #370, 1982, installation view, Gallery 399 at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, August, 2022
Sol LeWitt - Wall Drawing 386
Sol LeWitt – Wall Cartoon #386, 1983, republic of india ink wash and color ink launder
Stars with iii-, iv-, five-, vi-, 7-, eight-, and nine-points, drawn with a light tone India ink wash inside, an Republic of india ink wash outside, separated by a six-inch (15 cm) white band (A-G)
Wall Drawing #393 (1983)
Sol LeWitt – Wall Drawing #393, 1983, Red, yellow, bluish, and blackness crayon with black pencil grid on white wall, installation view, Paula Cooper Gallery, New York
Sol LeWitt - Wall Drawing #397
Sol LeWitt – Wall Drawing #397, 1983, ART, a Hotel, Denver, CO
Sol LeWitt - Wall Drawing 413
Sol LeWitt – Wall Cartoon #413, 1984, color ink launder
Drawing Series IV (A) (24 drawings)
Sol LeWitt - Wall Drawing #442, Performance Hall Foyer, Yale-NUS College photo David Zhang
Sol LeWitt – Wall Cartoon #442, 1985, Operation Hall Foyer, Yale-NUS Higher, photo: David Zhang
Sol Lewitt - Wall Drawing 467
Sol LeWitt – Wall Drawing #467, 1985, Marian Goodman Gallery
Sol LeWitt - Wall Drawing #463, January 1986 India ink wash
Sol LeWitt – Wall Drawing #463, Jan 1986, bharat ink wash
Sol LeWitt - Wall Drawing
Sol LeWitt – L-R: Wall Drawing #483, Wall Drawing #487, Wall Drawing #485 at Magasin – Centre National d'Art Contemporain de Grenoble, France, 1986, photo: Quentin Bertoux
Sol LeWitt - Wall Drawing 528 G
Sol LeWitt – Wall Drawing #528 Thousand, 1987, Color ink washes superimposed on wall
Sol LeWitt - Wall Drawing #564- Complex forms with color ink washes superimposed,' (1988) Paula Cooper Gallery, Sept 2022.
Sol LeWitt – Wall Drawing #564, Complex forms with color ink washes superimposed, 1988, installation view, Paula Cooper Gallery, Sept 2022
Sol LeWitt - Wall Drawing 579
Sol LeWitt – Wall Drawing #579, November 1988, Color ink wash, Private collection, New York
Sol LeWitt - Wall drawing 620
Sol LeWitt – Wall Drawing #620, 1989, Fundación Botín, Santander, Spain
Form derived from a cubic rectangle, with color ink washes superimposed
1990s
Sol LeWitt, Wall Drawing #631
Sol LeWitt – Wall Drawing #631, 1990, india ink
Sol LeWitt, Wall Drawing 711, 1992, Musée de Picardie, Amiens, France
Sol LeWitt – Wall Drawing #711, 1992, Musée de Picardie, Amiens, French republic
Sol LeWitt, Wall Drawing 711, 1992, Musée de Picardie, Amiens, France
Sol LeWitt – Wall Drawing #711, 1992, Musée de Picardie, Amiens, France
Sol LeWitt, Wall Drawing 681c, August 1993, Color ink wash
Sol LeWitt – Wall Drawing #681, Baronial 1993, Color ink wash
Sol LeWitt - Wall Drawing 793B
Sol LeWitt – Wall Drawing 793B, Jan 1996, Color ink wash
Sol LeWitt - Wall Drawing 822
Sol LeWitt – Wall Drawing 822, April 1997, Acrylic Paint
Sol LeWitt, Wall Drawing #831
Sol LeWitt – Wall Cartoon #831, 1997 (Geometric Forms), acrylic
Sol LeWitt - Wall drawing 869
Sol LeWitt – Wall cartoon #869, 1998
Copied Lines. From the top of a 48-inch (122 cm) square, draw a non direct horizontal line. The line is black. The 2nd line is drawn beneath the outset line, every bit close as possible, imitating the get-go line. The next line is fatigued below the second line. Keep copying, until the bottom of the square is reached
Marker or crayon, pencil
Sol LeWitt, Wall Drawing #879
Sol LeWitt – Wall Drawing #879, 1998, Loopy Doopy (black and white), acrylic
Sol LeWitt - Wall Drawing 880
Sol LeWitt – Wall Drawing 880, Loopy Doopy (orangish and green), september 1998, Acrylic paint, Addison Gallery of American Art
Sol LeWitt, Wall Drawing #836
Sol LeWitt – Wall drawing #836, 1998, Bonnefantenmuseum, 2022, photo: Peter Cox
Sol LeWitt - Wall Drawing 915
Sol LeWitt – Wall Drawing #915, September 1999, Acrylic paint
Sol LeWitt - Wall Drawing #614
Sol LeWitt – Wall Drawing #614, 1999, Fundación Botín, Santander, Kingdom of spain
Sol LeWitt, Wall Drawing #901
Sol LeWitt – Wall Drawing #901, 1999, Bonnefantenmuseum, 2022, photo: Peter Cox
2000s
Sol LeWitt - Wall Drawing 1005
Sol LeWitt – Wall Cartoon #1005, Isometric form. Dec 2001, Acrylic paint
Sol LeWitt - Wall Drawing 1037
Sol LeWitt – Wall Cartoon #1037, April 2002, Acrylic pigment
Sol LeWitt - Wall Drawing 1042
Sol LeWitt – Wall Cartoon #1042, May 2002, Acrylic pigment
Sol LeWitt - Wall Drawing #1113, at Hirshhorn Museum
Sol LeWitt – Wall Cartoon #1113, 2003, Hirshhorn Museum
Sol LeWitt - Wall Drawing 1081
Sol LeWitt – Wall Drawing #1081, March 2003, Acrylic paint
Sol LeWitt - Wall Drawing 1138
Sol LeWitt – Wall Drawing #1138: Forms equanimous of bands of color, 2004, acrylic paint, installation view, Lisson Gallery, London

Sol Lewitt - Wall Drawing #1118

Sol Lewitt - Wall Drawing #1118
Sol LeWitt – Wall Drawing #1118, Whirls, 2004, acrylic paint, 125 i/4 x 280 3/four inc, Crown Center Neighborhood, Kansas City, United states of america
Sol LeWitt - Wall Drawing #1131, Whirls and Twirls (Wadsworth), 2004, Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art
Sol LeWitt – Wall Drawing #1131, Whirls and Twirls (Wadsworth), 2004, Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art, Hartford, Connecticut
Sol LeWitt, Wall Drawing #1183
Sol LeWitt – Wall Drawing #1183, 2005, acrylic paint, Bonnefantenmuseum, 2022, photo: Peter Cox
Sol LeWitt, Wall Drawing #1183
Sol LeWitt – Wall Drawing #1183, 2005, acrylic pigment, Bonnefantenmuseum, 2022, photo: Peter Cox
Sol LeWitt - Wall Drawing 1152
Sol LeWitt – Wall Drawing #1152, Whirls and Twirls (Met), Apr 2005, Acrylic Paint, LeWitt Collection, Chester, Connecticut
Sol LeWitt, Wall Drawing 1185, Graphite, October 2005
Sol LeWitt – Wall Drawing #1185, Graphite, October 2005
Sol LeWitt - Wall Drawing 1186
Sol LeWitt – Wall Drawing #1186, October 2005, Graphite, Collection of Alessandro Maccaferri
Sol LeWitt - Wall Drawing 1238, Whirls and Twirls, 2007
Sol LeWitt – Wall Cartoon #1238, Whirls and Twirls, 2007, John and Mary Pappajohn Educational activity Center, 1200 Thou Artery, Des Moines
Sol LeWitt - Wall Drawing 1238, Whirls and Twirls, 2007
Sol LeWitt – Wall Drawing #1238, Whirls and Twirls (detail), 2007, John and Mary Pappajohn Education Center, 1200 Grand Artery, Des Moines
Sol LeWitt, Wall Drawing 1256
Sol LeWitt – Wall Drawing #1256, Us Embassy in Berlin, Germany, February 2008, Acrylic paint, 457 ten 914 cm
Sol LeWitt - Wall Drawing 1261
Sol LeWitt – Wall Drawing #1261, July 2008, Graphite, designated for Yale University Fine art Gallery

All images by the Estate of Sol LeWitt/ARS unless otherwise noted.

More by Sol LeWitt

Footnotes

  1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conceptual_art
  2. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seventeen_(American_magazine)