This exhibition includes sculptures, paintings, and immersive installations by a loose-knit group of artists working in Southern California from the 1960s to the present. The renowned Light and Space and “finish fetish” artists are united by an interest in manipulating the medium of light, projected or reflected, to alter the perception of form, architectural space, and surface qualities.
Going beyond the tradition of representing light through paint or photography, artists like Robert Irwin, James Turrell, and Doug Wheeler create installations in which actual light takes a form that seems to exist between presence and absence, providing a means of entering a mysterious immaterial world.
In works by these and other artists—including Peter Alexander, Larry Bell, Billy Al Bengston, Judy Chicago, Gisela Colón, Ron Cooper, Mary Corse, Ronald Davis, Guy Dill, Laddie John Dill, Fred Eversley, Craig Kauffman, John McCracken, Bruce Nauman, Helen Pashgian, Roland Reiss, Roy Thurston, De Wain Valentine, and Norman Zammitt—industrial materials such as cast resins, fiberglass, neon fixtures, and sprayed paint minimize the touch of the artist’s hand. They link art and technology in a cool aesthetic that echoes the emotional detachment of pop art and minimalism of the 1960s and 1970s. Their works’ glossy surfaces and intense light are often thought to be characteristic of Southern California, with its car and surfboard culture and bright oceanside environment, though the artists in fact drew on many different experiences in developing their practices.
Organized by the Los Angeles County Museum of Art
Audio tour
Guests are encouraged to bring their personal headphones/earbuds and use their smartphones to access the exhibition audio tour by the Nashville Ambient Ensemble.
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Education and community engagement supporter
Hospitality sponsor
Funded in part by
Funded in part by
Gordon CAP Gallery Fund
With additional support from
Presented in part by
Exhibition gallery
Helen Pashgian. Untitled, 1968–69. Cast polyester resin and acrylic insert, height: 8 3/8 in., diameter: 8 5/8 in. Los Angeles County Museum of Art, purchased with funds provided by the Hillcrest Foundation and the Modern and Contemporary Art Council Acquisitions Endowment. © Helen Pashgian. Photo © Museum Associates/LACMA
Billy Al Bengston. Tom, 1968. Sprayed nitrocellulose lacquer and polyester resin on aluminum, 26 × 25 in. Los Angeles County Museum of Art, gift of B. Gerald Cantor, © Billy Al Bengston. Photo © Museum Associates/LACMA
Mary Corse. Untitled (Clear White), 1968. Plexiglas, argon fixtures, solid state Tesla coils, and monofilament. Los Angeles County Museum of Art, purchased with funds provided by the Modern and Contemporary Art Council. © Mary Corse, courtesy Kayne Griffin Corcoran. Photo © Museum Associates/LACMA
Roland Reiss. Red Edge, 1968. Polyester resin and fiberglass, 62 × 85 1/2 × 1/2 in. Los Angeles County Museum of Art, purchased with funds provided by the Modern and Contemporary Art Council, © Estate of Roland Reiss, courtesy of Diane Rosenstein Gallery, Los Angeles. Photo © Museum Associates/LACMA
Doug Wheeler. Untitled (Light Encasement), 1968. Adapted neon and sheet acrylic, 96 × 96 in., installation: 20 × 20 ft. Los Angeles County Museum of Art, purchased with funds provided by the Modern and Contemporary Art Council in honor of the museum’s 40th anniversary, © Doug Wheeler. Photo © Museum Associates/LACMA
Norman Zammitt. Untitled, 1984. Acrylic on canvas, three panels, 111 × 216 in. Los Angeles County Museum of Art, gift of William J. and Marilyn Lasarow, © Estate of Norman Zammitt. Photo © Museum Associates/LACMA
Gisela Colón, Untitled (Monolith Silver), 2016. Engineered carbon fiber, internal steel structure, and prismatic surface particles, 144 x 40 in. Los Angeles County Museum of Art, gift from the Collection of Cindy and Tony Canzoneri, © Gisela Colón. Photo © Museum Associates/LACMA
Peter Alexander. Untitled, 1968. Cast polyester resin, 9 × 5 3/8 × 5 1/2 in. Los Angeles County Museum of Art, gift of Elliott and Adrenne Horwitch. © 2022 The Estate of Peter Alexander. Photo © Museum Associates/LACMA
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