Robert irwin age
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Robert Irwin
Artist Bio
Robert Irwin’s paintings, installations, and site-specific sculptures generate what he calls “phenomenal presence.” Instead of functioning according to an image or representation, Irwin’s works foster experiences that viewers discover individually through self-guided interaction with the art. Decades of acetic experimentation at one point led Irwin to abandon studio-made art altogether and to focus his ideas specifically on public sites. Irwin, as well as other artists working in this phenomenological mode, such as Richard Serra and James Turrell, continues to have a huge impact on younger artists and on the direction of art history. Robert Irwin (1928–2023) lived and worked in San Diego, CA. Solo exhibitions include those at Dia:Beacon, New York (2022), Kraftwerk, Berlin (2021), Pratt Institute School of Architecture (2018), University Art Museum, California State University, Long Beach (2018), Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Washington, DC (2016), Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington, DC (2010), Museum of Contemporary Art, San Diego (2007), Dia Center for the Arts, New York (1998), Musée d’art contemporain, Lyon (1998), Reina Sofía, Madrid (1995), Musée d’art moderne de la Ville de Paris (1994), Kölnischer Kunstverein, Cologne (1994), and Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles (1993). From the early 1970s onward, Irwin created site-conditioned installations and major architectural and environmental installations at institutions worldwide, including Chinati Foundation, Marfa, TX (2016), Dia:Beacon (2015), Whitney Museum of American Art, New York (2013), Vienna Secession (2013), Los Angeles County Museum of Art (2010), and Walker Art Center, Minneapolis (2009). 2024 Brida, Giuliana. “Here Are the 12 Must-See Exhibitions on View in New York’s Galleries This Month” (125 Newbury exhibition review). Cultured Magazine, 9 December 2024. https://www.culturedmag.com/article/2024/12/09/must-see-new-york-gallery-shows-december “Exhibition juxtaposes two key protagonists of the Los Angeles art scene of the 1960s” (Pace Gallery exhibition review). ArtDaily, 4 December 2024. https://artdaily.com/news/176173/Exhibition-juxtaposes-two-key-protagonists-of-the-Los-Angeles-art-scene-of-the-1960s Ortega, Bash. “Irwin/Bell: The ‘60s The Influence of Light and Space at 125 Newbury Gallery, NYC” (exhibition review). ArteFuse, 29 November 2024. https://artefuse.com/irwin-bell-the-60s-the-influence-of-light-and-space-at-125-newbury-gallery-nyc/ “Pace Gallery at Frieze Los Angeles.” Martin Cid Magazine, 24 February 2024. https://martincid.com/art/pace-gallery-at-frieze-los-angeles/. Schrader, Adam. "There Is a Low-Key Light and Space Exhibition at LAX Airport." Artnet, 3 July 2024. https://news.artnet.com/art-world/lax-ai
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Irwin began his career as a painter. Initially he worked within an abstract expressionist style but quickly moved on to a more reductive approach to painting, specifically the elimination of everything in a work that distracted from its overall visual impact. After a series of what are known as his “line paintings,” Irwin pushed his reductions as far as he could go within a traditional canvas with works like U •
2016 Honoree, Los Angeles County Muse •
Robert Irwin