Pioneering "Light and Space" artist, Doug Wheeler, returns to David Zwirner with another entrancing installation.
Doug Wheeler on view at David Zwirner
Known for his "innovative constructions and installations that engage with the perception and experience of light, space, and sound," according to the press release, Wheeler's current work is housed in a pristine white room at Zwirner's 519 19th Street space. An illuminated rectangle outlines the borders of the gallery's far wall. The cool glow of the imposing shape tests the viewer's sense of perception, the light evoking a celestial air that makes the space appear infinite, surreal, and otherworldly.
Doug Wheeler on view at David Zwirner
Born in Arizona in 1939, Wheeler studied at Chouinard Art Institute, later renamed the California Institute of the Arts, and started as a painter, according to the release. He began incorporating light into his wall-mounted works in the 1960s and presented his first "construction of an absolute light environment" at Amsterdam's Stedelijk Museum in 1969. The installation was produced by embedding a neon light into a "viewing aperture that encompassed the entire surface area of the gallery wall" and stretching a translucent scrim across the ceiling of the all-white room. The result created "the effect of light as a tactile and dense mass that enveloped the viewer while articulating a luminous volume, or plane, across the expanse of the wall."
Doug Wheeler on view at David Zwirner
Wheeler has produced variations on this light work over the years, presenting them around the globe. His current installation, 49 Nord 6 Est 68 Ven 12 FL (2011-2012), was first exhibited FRAC Lorraine in Metz, France in 2012. This exhibit is the artist's fourth at Zwirner, having shown installations in 2012 and 2014 and presenting Encasements, five works composed of acrylic and neon lighting, in 2016.
Doug Wheeler on view at David Zwirner
Unlike his expansive installations at Zwirner in previous years, this time there are no long queues and no disposable booties to put on prior to entering the exhibit. This iteration felt a little less awe-inspiring and all-encompassing compared to the earlier works. This may have been due to a camera crew working inside the installation during my visit on Tuesday morning. If visitors are lucky enough to experience the work without distraction, they should be able to lose themselves in Wheeler's luminous environment.
Learn more at davidzwirner.com.
David Zwirner, 519 West 19th Street, NYC
On view through March 21, 2020
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