Art Hag

David Zwirner presents its first exhibition of American arist Dan Flavin's (1933-1996) work since the gallery announced its exclusive representation of the artist's estate earlier this year. Dan Flavin: Series and Progressions features sixteen of the artist's minimal, fluorescent light works. Flavin first began working with fluorescent light in 1963 with the diagonal of May 25, 1963 (to Constantin Brancusi), "a single gold, fluorescent lamp that hangs on a diagonal on the wall" and continued to produce a "singularly consistent and prodigious body of work that utilized commercially-available fluorescent lamps to create installations of light and color" (from the exhibit's press release) until his death in 1996.

I entered the gallery using the center set of doors, so the first pieces I saw were Flavin's nine works from his 1968 series two primary series and one secondary which consists of "three sets of three works" separated into three rooms by color combos - red and yellow, red and blue, and red and green. The sets are "composed of a cumulative system of vertical lamps. While they each stand alone as individual works, these constructions demonstrate Flavin's interest in serial and permutational configurations." Each room is richly illuminated by its installation. The first room glows in a vibrant, fiery red. The middle room is serenely blue while the third room emanates a soft, cool green.

Heading west into the adjoining galleries, I literally walked by and missed the nominal three (to William of Ockham), (1963) which is made up of six white lamps "in three vertical sets, grouped as one, two, and three lamps" arranged on one wall. I had to turn around and go back to check out the simple yet bright and almost blinding work.

The next gallery housed untitled (for John Heartfield), (1990) four individual works that "project a sequential color arrangement into space." The pieces are primarily red with a dash of white and include vertical and perpendicular lamps that "are arranged in the same construction" yet "are distinctly organized in terms of a progression defined by the artist's employment of color." I couldn't help but think that the artist may have intentionally arranged these lamps to resemble "F"s for "Flavin!"

The next room contained my favorite piece in the collection, untitled (to Helga and Carlo, with respect and affection), (1974). The large-scale piece is taken from a series titled barriers which "literally extend the notion of potentially endless repeatability into the exhibition space." The piece was made in "a modular sequence of square units that dramatically bathes the surrounding space in blue light." The work is a "fence-like structure of fluorescent lamps that cuts across the length of a room and disrupts the surrounding architecture." The Helga and Carlo to whom Flavin dedicated this piece with respect and affection are Carlo Huber, who was the Director of the Kunsthalle Basel when this piece was exhibited there in 1975, and his wife. The way this work overwhelms the space and emits its bright, blue, mesmerizing glow made it feel incredibly powerful and reverent.

Last but not least, displayed in the 519 West 19th Street space, is the room-filling installation alternating pink and "gold" (1967). The 8-foot lamps occupying three, long walls are arranged vertically in "alternating units of pink and gold... installed at progressively larger intervals from one another, beginning at the center of each wall: two lamps (one pink, one yellow) were placed at the mid-point of each wall; then single lamps of alternating colors were placed on both sides of the pair, spaced at intervals of 2 feet, 4 feet, 6 feet, etc. — as many times as space allowed." It's an interesting combination of math, light, and color that creates an appealing site-specific installation. As Flavin concludes in his December 6, 1967 statement of this work, "...our peculiar informative gain with the exposition is the concrete delight of a vastly felt illuminated paradox."

I suspect people will either love or hate Flavin's minimal, illuminating works on view. I'm with the lovers and think everyone should head to David Zwirner to see Series and Progressions and judge for themselves. My pics below don't do the works justice. Learn more at Davidzwirner.com. Through December 23rd.