MARCH
9-JUNE 15, 2003
ELEMENTAL: SELECTIONS FROM THE PERMANENT
COLLECTION
Exhibition
GALLERY A
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In 1966, Frank
Stella said of his paintings, "Only what can be seen there is there." In
other words, what you see is what you get. This statement is in keeping
with one of the basic tenets of Minimalism--that the art object does not
address anything other than the facts of its own making and its literal
presence in the physical world. By the mid-1960s, critics and artists heralded
the arrival of this new idea-based sensibility that seemed more in accordance
with America's embrace of its burgeoning space program and new technologies
than the metaphysical and transcendental aims of the Abstract Expressionists
and the subjective impulses of the Action painters of the late 1940s and
'50s. The exhibition Elemental seeks to illuminate the theoretical
complexities of this art movement by examining its genesis in the 1960s,
canonization in the 1970s, and transformation in the 1980s and beyond. Minimalist
artists sought to eliminate traditional notions of originality and communicate
a new vision of abstract art in which the logic of elemental forms and the
psychological impact of their scale, materials, and placement within the
gallery space were of paramount importance. These formal and conceptual
works of art were meant to exist autonomously in the world, without metaphoric
content or thematic associations.
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Larry Bell
UNTITLED
1967-1968
Walker Art Center
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Donald
Judd
UNTITLED
1965
Harold D. Field Memorial Acquisition, 1966 |
Drawn from the exceptionally rich holdings of work from this period in
the Walker's permanent collection, some 40 sculptures, paintings, drawings,
prints, and artist's books are on view, highlighting such original practitioners
as Donald Judd, Carl Andre, Anne Truitt, and Sol LeWitt. Their
work is shown alongside that of a roster of artists whose
highly individuated practices in a variety of media are informed by Minimalist
tendencies, including Larry Bell,
Hanne Darboven, Ellsworth Kelly, Brice Marden, Agnes Martin, David Novros,
Robert Smithson, Frank Stella, and Richard Tuttle.
Ellsworth
Kelly
BLACK CURVE
1962
Donated by Mr. and Mrs. Edmond R. Ruben, 1995
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RELATED
EVENTS
FREE
TOURS
SUNDAY, JUNE 1, 2003, 2 PM
SUNDAY, JUNE 15, 2003, 2 PM
Join the Walker Art Center's knowledgeable tour guides for a lively, engaging,
and informative tour of the exhibition.
RELATED EVENTS
PANEL
DISCUSSION: ELEMENTAL ARCHITECTURE
SUNDAY, MAY 18, 2003, 2 PM
Three leading practitioners respond to trends in architecture and design that
make use of Minimalist vocabulary.
FREE
TOURS
SATURDAY, MAY 3, 2 PM
SUNDAY, MAY 11, 2 PM
SATURDAY, MAY 31
Join the Walker Art Center's knowledgeable tour guides for a lively, engaging,
and informative tour of the exhibition.
APRIL EVENTS
FREE
TOURS
SUNDAY, APRIL 13, 2 PM
SUNDAY, APRIL 20, 2 PM
Join the Walker Art Center's knowledgeable tour guides for a lively, engaging,
and informative tour of the exhibition.
MARCH EVENTS
FREE
TOURS
SUNDAY, MARCH 16, 2 PM
SUNDAY, MARCH 23, 2 PM
SUNDAY, MARCH 30, 2 PM
Join the Walker Art Center's knowledgeable tour guides for a lively, engaging,
and informative tour of the exhibition.
APRIL EVENTS
FREE
TOURS
SUNDAY, APRIL 13, 2 PM
SUNDAY, APRIL 20, 2 PM
Join the Walker Art Center's knowledgeable tour guides for a lively, engaging,
and informative tour of the exhibition.
ELEMENTAL: SELECTIONS FROM THE PERMANENT COLLECTION IS
MADE POSSIBLE BY GENEROUS SUPPORT FROM JOANNE AND PHILIP VON BLON.