Art 41 Basel
June 16 – 20
Dan Flavin
three sets of tangented arcs in daylight
and cool white (to Jenny and Ira Licht), 1969
Art Unlimited
Hall 1, Booth U42
David Zwirner
Art Galleries
Hall 2, Booth E10
David Zwirner is pleased to present Dan Flavin‘s rare, site-specific light installation, three sets of tangented arcs in daylight and cool white (to Jenny and Ira Licht), 1969, at Art 41 Basel / Art Unlimited. Originally created for the artist’s first retrospective exhibition, held in 1969 at the National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa, this exceptional construction represents one of the few times Flavin employed the use of curves rather than vertical and horizontal configurations in his work.
The installation is comprised of six arc-like structures of fluorescent lamps which make use of the entire length and height of an enclosed room; 2-foot fixtures are aligned end to end to form each arc, spanning and bisecting the walls and floor. Similar to Flavin’s “barriers,” this construction disrupts the architecture of the space and bars the viewer from entering the gallery. The tonal contrast achieved through the use of daylight and cool white fluorescent lamps (each arc is a single color of white, alternating from daylight to cool white) clarifies form while optically redefining the exhibition space. Thus, Flavin merges the work of art with architecture, simultaneously animating and diffusing the walls and floor of the room through the use of color and light.
This work, which has not been exhibited since Flavin’s 1969 National Gallery of Canada retrospective, is dedicated to Ira Licht, an art historian and friend of the artist, and his wife Jennifer (Jenny), who was an associate curator at the Museum of Modern Art in New York.
Please also visit Booth E10 in Hall 2, where David Zwirner will feature major works by Joseph Beuys, Christo, Hanne Darboven, Lucio Fontana, On Kawara, Yves Klein, Joseph Kosuth, Sol LeWitt, and Giulio Paolini, drawn from The Helga and Walther Lauffs Collection. David Zwirner will also present significant works by gallery artists including Francis Alÿs, Marlene Dumas, Dan Flavin, Gordon Matta-Clark, John McCracken, Neo Rauch, and Luc Tuymans, some of which were commissioned specially for the fair.
For more information, including prices and availability, please contact the gallery.
David Zwirner
525 West 19th Street
+1 212 727 2070
www.davidzwirner.com
Pictured above: Dan Flavin, three sets of tangented arcs in daylight and cool white (to Jenny and Ira Licht), 1969. Daylight and cool white fluorescent light. Room size: 9 ft. 6 in. x 24 ft. 8 in. x 37 ft. 3 in. (290 x 752 x 1135cm.)