Sol Lewitt : Structures, 1965-2006

Sol LeWitt (19282007), renowned for his role in establishing Conceptualism and Minimalism as dominant art movements in the postwar era, is perhaps best known for his masterful and brilliantly colored wall drawings. Throughout his career, however, LeWitt also created many remarkable three-dimensional works suitable for display in outdoor settings. In this handsome publication, which accompanies the first major career survey of LeWitt's "structures," the artist's modular works are traced from their simplest manifestation in a single large-scale cube through multiple variations, with examples from the 1960s through the 1990s. Works from the 1980s onward explore the three-dimensional possibilities of diverse geometric forms, such as stars, and the introduction of new materials, including concrete block and fiberglass, stimulating experimentation with non-geometric, irregular forms on an increasing scale. The book includes an essay by Nicholas Baume and Joe Madura that provides an historical and critical context for the structures. Additional essays by Rachel Haidu, Anna Lovatt, and Kirsten Swenson provide fresh art-historical commentary, ranging from the problematic of site for LeWitt's initial structures to the integral relationship between his drawings and three-dimensional works. Stunning color plates record the works on display in New York's City Hall Park, supplemented by archival and historical documentation.

Nicholas Baume is director and chief curator, Public Art Fund; Susan K. Freedman is president, Public Art Fund; Rachel Haidu is associate professor of Art History, University of Rochester; Joe Madura is research associate, Public Art Fund; Anna Lovatt is lecturer in Art History, University of Nottingham, UK; Kirsten Swenson is assistant professor of Art History, University of Nevada, Las Vegas.