Complex Form by Sol LeWitt | Gallerie d'Italia Naples

Sol LeWitt

Complex Form

Sol LeWitt

Sol LeWitt is one of the leading figures of minimalism and of conceptual art. Born in Hartford, Connecticut, in 1927, to a family of Russian Jewish exiles, LeWitt graduated in fine arts from Syracuse University, and then moved to New York where he attended a school for illustrators. It was here in New York that he began to work in graphic design in the office of the well-known architect Ieoh Ming Pei, whose creations are characterised by the presence of abstract forms. During that same period, he came across the work of the celebrated English photographer Eadweard Muybridge, whose studies of sequences and movement had a profound impact on LeWitt.

Sol LeWitt

Sol LeWitt is one of the leading figures of minimalism and of conceptual art. Born in Hartford, Connecticut, in 1927, to a family of Russian Jewish exiles, LeWitt graduated in fine arts from Syracuse University, and then moved to New York where he attended a school for illustrators. It was here in New York that he began to work in graphic design in the office of the well-known architect Ieoh Ming Pei, whose creations are characterised by the presence of abstract forms. During that same period, he came across the work of the celebrated English photographer Eadweard Muybridge, whose studies of sequences and movement had a profound impact on LeWitt.

Another crucial factor in his education was his experience working as a receptionist at the Museum of Modern Art in New York, which enabled him to come into contact with a number of important expressive movements and with other emerging artists. He also began to deal with publishing, and he taught at New York University and at the School of Visual Arts. In the 1980s, the artist produced a series of works entitled Complex Forms . These were two-dimensional or three-dimensional works characterised by seriality, repetition and progression. LeWitt believed that art was defined above all by the ideas and design of a work, whereas the material production of the work may be delegated to others. In 1980 he left the frenetic megalopolis of New York for a quieter life in the Umbrian town of Spoleto, Italy. LeWitt is highly thought of by Italian art collectors and critics, and during his artistic career he established relationships throughout the country, meaning that his name is permanently related to that of his adopted home, Italy.

188 x 510 x 200 cm

Date: 1986
Medium: pigments and paint on plywood

Introduction

The work Complex Form is composed of five geometrical forms resembling pyramids of differing heights.
Each element is hollow and is composed of medium-density fibreboard sheets, a commonly-used, cheap wood product that is more stable than natural wood. This particular material is produced by means of a process using wood fibres mainly obtained from recycled wood scraps which are put together and compressed.

All of the forms are laid out in line; they do not correspond to a regularly-shaped pyramid insofar as they do not possess a central axis perpendicular to the ground, but rather each leans in different directions and are arranged in no particular order. The forms possess sharp points that are placed next to each other in an irregular, asymmetric fashion.

Each pyramid has a polygonal base that generates a lively sequence of light and shade which follow one another in every facet of the form. The figures appear to energetically push outwards, giving rise to a surprising, dynamic spatial composition that the artist sees as symbolising modernity.

The artist portrays life itself in this work: he highlights what he himself considers to be its most characteristic aspect, namely technological progress whereby geometrical purity becomes one of the clearest signs of the pursuit of shared, universal values.

With this work, Sol LeWitt offers a profound reflection on life, centred on the details of elements rather than on an overview of them taken together. In fact, details offer an intimate perspective, and insulate one from society and smart set, which the artist rejects in favour of simple country living.