The preeminent American artist Sol LeWitt (b. 1928, Hartford, CT, d. 2007, New York), whose pioneering style defies categorization, is well-known for his wall drawings as well as his many variations of open cube structures, complex forms, and works on paper. A critical departure from the tradition of object-based art, he believed in the primacy of the idea, famously stating: “The idea becomes a machine that makes the art.” LeWitt executed his first wall drawing for Paula Cooper Galleryʼs inaugural show in 1968. In November 2008, Sol LeWitt: A Wall Drawing Retrospective opened at the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art, where it will remain on view for 35 years.
Sol LeWitt: Open Structure, the first significant presentation of the artist's work at a public museum in Japan, is presently on view at the Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo (MOT). Other recent one-person presentations include those at the Institute of Contemporary Art, Miami (2021), and the Modern Institute, Glasgow (2018). LeWittʼs works are in numerous public collections, including the Art Institute of Chicago; Castello di Rivoli, Turin; Centre Pompidou, Paris; Moderna Museet, Stockholm; The Museum of Modern Art, New York; San Francisco Museum of Modern Art; Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York; Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam; Tate, UK; and Whitney Museum of American Art, New York.
Sol LeWitt
Wall Drawing #485
Three asymmetrical pyramids with color ink washes superimposed, 1986
color ink wash
dimensions variable
First drawn by: Christophe Boyer, David Higginbotham, Pierre Joseph, Fransje Killaars, Yves Mulas, Marien Schouten, Roy Villevoye
First installation: Magasin - Centre National d'Art Contemporain de Grenoble, France June 1986
Sol LeWitt
Wall Drawing #357, November 1981
White crayon, black pencil grid, black wall A 12-inch (30 cm) grid covering the black wall. Within each 12-inch (30 cm) square, one arc from the midpoint of one side (The direction of the arcs and their placement are determined by the drafter.)
First drawn by: Jo Watanabe
First installation: Zabriskie Gallery, New York
Sol LeWitt
Wall Drawing #878
White irregular form on red, yellow, blue and gray rectangles, August 1998
acrylic paint dimensions variable
First drawn by: Kevin Oster, Mio Takashima
First installation: Studley, Inc., New York
Works accompanied by a Certificate of Authenticity
Sol LeWitt
Wall Drawing #500
Symmetrical pyramid with gray ink washes superimposed, October 1986
India ink wash dimensions variable First drawn by: Douglas Geiger, David Higginbotham, Kazuko Miyamoto, Anthony Sansotta, Rebecca Schwab, Susanna Singer, Kei Tsujimura, Jo Watanabe
First installation: Drawing Center, New York
Sol LeWitt
Complex Form #6, 1987/1988
enamel on aluminum
96 x 180 x 43 in. (243.8 x 457.2 x 109.2 cm)
Sol LeWitt
Serial Project ABCD 5, 1968
steel, lacquer, tape
8 x 57 1/4 x 57 1/4 in. (20.3 x 145.4 x 145.4 cm)
Sol LeWitt
Modular Floor Structure, 1966/1968
baked enamel on aluminum and steel
22 7/8 x 129 3/8 x 129 1/8 in. (58.2 x 328.3 x 328 cm.)
Sol LeWitt
Incomplete Open Cube 7-8, Black, 1974
painted aluminum
42 x 42 x 42 in. (106.7 x 106.7 x 106.7 cm)
Sol LeWitt
Modular Wall Piece with Cube, 1965/1977
white-painted wood
21 x 96 x 21 in. (53.5 x 244 x 53.5 cm)
Sol LeWitt
Brushstrokes, 1996
gouache on paper
image: 60 1/2 x 92 1/2 in. (153.7 x 235 cm)
frame: 66 x 98 1/8 x 2 1/2 in. (167.6 x 249.2 x 6.4 cm)
signed lower right: "S LeWitt"
Sol LeWitt
Horizontal Lines, Black on Color, 2005
gouache on paper
image: 60 1/2 x 60 1/4 in. (153.7 x 153 cm)
frame: 66 x 65 3/4 x 3 in. (167.6 x 167 x 7.6 cm)
Sol LeWitt
Complex Form (sloppy), 1991
gouache on paper
image: 22 x 30 in. (55.9 x 76.2 cm)
frame: 26 1/8 x 33 x 1 1/2 in. (66.4 x 83.8 x 3.8 cm)
signed and dated bottom right corner:"S LeWitt 91"
Sol LeWitt
(rip) Map of New York City With the Area Between the Points Where I have Lived, Removed, 1979
Black & white photograph with cut-out
15 3/4 x 15 3/4 in. (40 x 40 cm)
frame: 17 3/8 x 17 3/8 x 1 1/2 in. (44.1 x 44.1 x 3.8 cm)
Titled and signed recto, lower left
Sol LeWitt
Photogrid, 1977
49 coupler prints mounted on paper
23 3/8 x 23 3/8 in. (59.4 x 59.4 cm)
frame: 24 1/4 x 24 1/4 x 1 1/2 in. (61.6 x 61.6 x 3.8 cm)
inscribed, signed and dated lower right recto
