James Turrell
AT ONE
Overview by Luc Sokoksly
Perceptual Clarity in Turrell’s At One at Gagosian Paris
Luc Sokolsky
In a disorienting space with no angles or corners, a white pavilion becomes slowly washed in immense color. Emanating from backlit sources and led, the colored light wraps around the audience, further removing any evidence of space or environment. This perceptual disorientation coined the Ganzfeld effect collapses both time and space for the viewer. Set at timed intervals so as not to overwhelm the audience or cause hallucinations, the immersive installation Ganzfeld, All Clear (2024) provides a unique experience in a hyperconnected world, situating the viewer in a space with all other inputs
removed.
Los Angeles County Museum of Art
The Ganzfeld installations epitomize the work of the visionary American artist James Turrell, a pioneer of the Light and Space movement. Recognized most notably for his Skyscape installations across the globe, Turrell’s solo exhibition At One at Gagosian Gallery’s sprawling Paris Le Bourget space expands on the artist’s expansive oeuvre, demonstrating his singular vision to crafting the “thingness” of light as a medium of both extraordinary visual splendor and a vehicle for immense reflection.
Several works from the Wedgework series, including the new piece Either Or complement the Ganzfeld installation. Turrell’s Wedgeworks utilize light and refraction to give sculptural qualities to deeply colored light. While just out of grasp, these vividly colored sculptures contain a sense of tangibility and tension hitherto unseen in the medium of light itself. While Either Or does not envelop the viewer in the same manner as Ganzfeld, All Clear, the revelation of light itself is concurrent. Raethro, Yellow, 2024 similarly tantalizes the viewer, giving a seemingly tangible form to projected light. Like an apparition from the void, a vividly-hued yellow triangle appears to rest on the wall,
occupying space in the same manner as a physical object.
A selection of printed works on paper, photographs and archival materials complete the exhibition, demonstrating the breadth of Turrell’s practice and firmly situating the artist within the annals of art history. Turrell’s aquatint and woodcut prints produced in collaboration with master printmakers such as Yasu Shibata translate the immersive experience of the artist’s work onto paper, emphasizing the two dimensionality of the printed form. Taken in conjunction with the archival materials –blueprints, photographs, desks, maquettes and more of Turrell’s ambitious project Roden Crater, the immensity of the artist’s project, one of research, dedication and vision becomes deeply illuminated.
Los Angeles County Museum of Art
Edition of 30
Permanent installation, Diözesanmuseum Freising, Germany
