
As a major figure in both movements, Sol LeWitt (1928–2007) was one of the first artists whose work graced the Barnes building. LeWitt and the Walker enjoyed a relationship that spanned more than 35 years. It began with the museum’s purchase of sculptures (LeWitt called them “structures”) in the mid-1960s and includes approximately 200 pieces donated by the artist during his lifetime. His work is featured prominently in the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden, and his enduring wall drawings have graced the Walker’s public spaces since the early 1980s.
The exhibition at the Walker Art Center Sol LeWitt: 2D+3D, on view November 18, 2010 (from 5–9 pm)–April 24, 2011, presents for the first time the full range of the Walker’s LeWitt holdings, highlighting the artist’s three-dimensional structures, wall drawings, models, unique works on paper, prints, and artist’s books.
Carefully conceived geometric arrangements were the basis for LeWitt’s earliest work. In 1966, he wrote: “The most interesting characteristic of the cube is that it is relatively uninteresting. Compared to any other three-dimensional form, the cube lacks any aggressive force, implies no motion, and is least emotive. Therefore, it is the best form to use as a basic unit for any more elaborate function, the grammatical device from which the work may proceed.”
In 1967, Artforum magazine commissioned LeWitt’s now-legendary statement on his work, “Paragraphs on Conceptual Art,” in which he coined the term for a movement that would tip the scales from an orientation toward objects to an idea-based art. He proposed that “when an artist uses a conceptual form of art, it means that all of the planning and decisions are made beforehand and the execution is a perfunctory affair. The idea becomes the machine that makes the art.” His radical pronouncement defined a new mindset and way of working that continue to be profoundly relevant to a current generation of artists.