Deutsch
English
ItalianoUpdated 09.05.2022
In the works of James Turrell, light becomes a physically tangible experience. The world-class artist is opening the only one of his Shallow Spaces in German-speaking countries in the Swarovski Crystal Worlds.
James Turrell is considered one of the most important contemporary artists. His latest installation, called "Umbra", adds a luminous facet to the Chambers of Wonder at the Swarovski Crystal Worlds, which also exhibit works by Yayoi Kusama and Lee Bul. James Turrell had long been on their wish list, as curator Carla Rumler explains: "It is a great honour for us to welcome a work by James Turrell to the Swarovski Crystal Worlds. Light breathes life into crystal and ignites a unique magic. Turrell's understanding of light and its use in its most essential form transforms it into an immersive experience for the viewer. Those who dare to be open to the power of light will experience Umbra physically and emotionally."
The perception of light and colour is the central element of James Turrell's oeuvre, which spans more than five decades. In his light installations and spaces, Turrell pursues the overarching goal of turning the artistic medium of light into a physically perceptible experience. Spaces are not only "illuminated" but defined and thus visualised by light and light colours. Turrell's installations bear witness to the artist's ingenious play with perception - architectural conditions are almost completely dissolved by the creative use of light.
The effects of light refraction through crystal and the resulting spectral colours have fascinated visitors to the Swarovski Crystal Worlds since it opened in 1995, and the new Wunderkammer will reveal an abstract yet tangible perception of light. "Light is the soul of crystal and we are therefore honoured to have been able to work with James Turrell to give this medium a worthy space in the Swarovski Crystal Worlds. Once again, we invite you to engage with the phenomenon of crystal with courage and wonder." says Stefan Isser, Managing Director of D. Swarovski Tourism Services GmbH, referring to the sophisticated visitor experience of the international destination.
"Umbra, 2022" is the 18th Wunderkammer following the recent opening of "The Art of Performance" and once again demonstrates the multi-faceted nature of the Swarovski Crystal Worlds. James Turrell's work from the Shallow Spaces series can be seen daily from 9:00 - 19:00 in the Swarovski Crystal Worlds from 7 April 2022.
James Turrell (*1943 in Los Angeles, California), one of the most renowned representatives of the international art scene, has been experimenting with natural and artificial light sources in his work for 50 years, creating "light spaces" in his installations in which light as a medium can be experienced visually. "I love working with light and like to use it in ways that make it physically tangible to viewers as a space-filling medium," says Turrell. "By using sunlight, moonlight and starlight, I like to give more expression to a work of art."
In his light installations and spaces, Turrell pursues the overarching goal of turning the artistic medium of light into a physically perceptible experience. Spaces are not only "illuminated" but defined by light and light colours and thus visualised. Turrell's installations bear witness to the artist's ingenious play with perception - architectural conditions are almost completely dissolved by the creative use of light. An ordinary corner of a room can thus become a large setting for the interplay between surface, colour and space.
After completing his studies in mathematics and psychology, James Turrell decided to become a light artist. The most important question he asked himself was how to give form to light. In 1967, for his first exhibition at the Pasadena Art Museum, he projected light cubes into the corners of the exhibition rooms, which not only changed the spatial dynamics of the exhibition, but created an effect that was both immobile and free-floating.
Turrell has been responsible for more than 160 solo exhibitions around the world since 1967, including the 2013 concurrent exhibition at New York's Guggenheim Museum, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) and the Museum of Fine Arts in Huston, Texas. The exhibition section in New York in particular became a sensational success, far beyond the borders of the international art scene. in 2014, further spectacular solo exhibitions followed in Jerusalem (Israel Museum) and Canberra (National Galleryof Australia). in 2018 and 2019, retrospectives were dedicated to the artist at the Museum Frieder Burda (Baden-Baden) and the Museo Jumex (Mexico City).
in 1968, Turrell received a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts. Since then, the artist has been honoured with over 20 awards, including the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation Fellowship (1984), the appointment as "Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres" by the French government (1991) and the award of the Nation Medal of Arts by US President Barack Obama (2014).
Turrell's work is represented in over 70 international art collections, including the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York City, New York's Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), the Centre Georges-Pompidou in Paris, the Museum für angewandte Kunst in Vienna and the MuseumMKK für Moderne Kunst in Frankfurt am Main.
If you have any questions, please contact:Alexandra MühlbacherSenior Communications ManagerT +43 5224500-3331press.kristallwelten@swarovski.com www.kristallwelten.com/presse