James Turrell

Creating light-saturated spaces that combine the elegance and simplicity of Minimalism with the spiritual concerns of Conceptual and Land art, James Turrell is internationally renowned as a 'sculptor of light'.  Using fluorescent light, his great innovation was harnessing this ordinary source of illumination and employing it in a way to heighten our awareness of the ambiguities of perception. 

Turrell's sublimely mysterious Ondoe, Blue emerges from the first series of projection pieces created by the artist between the years 1966-69.  The vivid blue rays of light seem to materialise, transforming solid wall into an apparent mysterious void while at once creating an illusion of a square-flat surface, calling into question our sensory perception.  Colour becomes a place as we are transported inside its pure, mysterious almost tactile presence.  The present work was conceived just two years following Turrell's graduation from the University of California while he was working from his studio in the old Mendota Hotel in Ocean Park, California.  Turrell began his earliest projection works in 1966 which were formed by light projected across a corner from a slightly modified quartz halogen projector.  Xenon projectors were constructed and a series of similar cross-corner forms were made, rendering a result which allowed the size of the projections to be increased without any loss of brilliance or clarity.  

The first artist to work exclusively with the medium, Turrell's work engages with two fundamental elements of everyday life - light and space.  Exploring the relationship that exists between these elements, Turrell works as both a scientist and an artist combining objectivity with artistic licence.  A qualified pilot who has always been fascinated by the sky, Turrell's work is informed by his studies in perceptual psychology and optical illusions.  Turrell's innovative approach to an uncharted territory transcends traditional boundaries of art, architecture and sculpture.