James Turrell: In Light

James Turrell, .Rayna, 1979, Wood framing, sheet rock, wood, Room size 156 " x 408" x 264 " (outside); 155" x 408" x 264 " (inside), Gift of Society for Contemporary Art. Art Institute of Chicago.

"I'm interested in delving into and exploring the architecture of space created by light. Mostly we have dealt with space by displacement or massing of form. The art that I make covers this ground between form and actually forming space using light. It is a structured space without a massing of form. This quality of working the space in between so that it limits or expands the penetration of vision is something that intensely fascinates me." -- James Turrell

Gallery 400 exhibits a major gallery installation and suite of prints by internationally celebrated American artist James Turrell who describes his work as "...not minimalism and not conceptual work (but) perceptual work." The installation artwork, entitled Rayna (1979) and generously loaned from the collection of the Art Institute of Chicago, has not built or exhibited in over 20 years. An intensely subtle work the installation is a room divided into a sensing space behind the rectangular aperture and a viewing space. Proportioned to manipulate properties of reflected light and of human perception, Rayna forms space through the relations of light and the constructed space.

James Turrell, Rayna, 1979, Wood framing, sheet rock, wood, Room size 156 " x 408" x 264 " (outside); 155" x 408" x 264 " (inside), Gift of Society for Contemporary Art. Art Institute of Chicago.

Rayna is complemented in the exhibition by some of the artist's only work in print media, the aquatint prints series entitled First Light (1989-90). The First Light prints explore space and form created by projected light.

Gallery view, James Turrell, Aquatints from the Portfolio First Light.

James Turrell, Acro, 1989-90, From the portfolio First Light, aquatint 39 1/8" x 27 3/8" (plate); 42 1/2" x 30 1/8" (sheet). Milwaukee Art Museum, Gift of Karen Johnson Boyd.

James Turrell: In Light is generously supported by Howard and Donna Stone, Penny Pritzker and Brian Traubert, Graham Foundation for the Advancement of the Arts, The Elizabeth F. Cheney Foundation, The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, and the Illinois Arts Council, a state agency. Special assistance has been provided by the Art Institute of Chicago and the Milwaukee Art Museum.

About James Turrell
Already known world-wide for his perceptual installations, Turrell has recently become nearly iconic, due to mounting interest in his monumental observatory, Roden Crater, a massive undertaking almost thirty years in the making. Within Roden Crater, which is located in the Painted Desert about forty miles north of Flagstaff, Arizona, a series of underground tunnels and skyspaces will capture and frame the celestial grandeur of the desert sky.

The subject of over 140 solo exhibitions worldwide, Turrell's work can be seen in permanent installations at The Henry Art Gallery, Seattle (opened July 2003) and The Nasher Sculpture Garden, Dallas (opened Oct 2003), as well as various other major museums, including The Mattress Factory, Pittsburgh; The Museum fur Modern Kunst, Frankfurt am Main, Germany; The Museum of Fine Art, Houston and P.S. 1, Long Island City, New York. The recipient of countless grants and awards, including a fellowship from the prestigious John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, Turrell is also a pilot and cattle rancher. The artist lives in Arizona.

James Turrell: In Light is presented in conjunction with the fall/winter installation Turrell's Gateway Plaza on the UIC's South Campus. Gateway Plaza will feature one of Turrell's signature skyspaces. a chamber for viewing the complex interplay of sky, light and atmosphere through a precisely determined aperture in the ceiling.