SCULPTURES; INSTALLATION ART
Turrell, James
U.S. (1943 - )
Light Reign
2003
Skyspace (neon and natural light, exterior L.E.D. illumination, and movable dome)
Concrete, painted drywall, translucent glass, aluminum, fiberglass, wood, terrazzo, and lighting
225 x 332 x 240 in. (571.5 x 843.3 x 609.6 cm) overall, exterior; 132 x 84 in. (335.8 x 213.4 cm) oculus; 198 x 288 x 192 in. (502.9 x 731.5 x 487.7 cm) overall interior; 132 x 22 [diameter] in. (335.3 x 55.9 cm) columns
Commissioned for the Henry Art Gallery's 75th Anniversary
FA 2004.14

In celebration of the 75th anniversary of the museum, world-renowned light and space artist James Turrell designed a permanent work in the Henry Art Gallery’s Illsley Ball Nordstrom Sculpture Court. Using light as his medium, Turrell’s remarkable creations manipulate space and perception, giving form, mass, and depth to light. He describes his art not as minimalism or conceptual art, but as perceptual work. He says, “My work is about space and the light that inhabits it. It is about your seeing.” His large-scale, often architectural works, including his monumental Roden Crater project, incorporate the complex interplay of sky, light, atmosphere, and astronomy in motion across the earth.

Skyspaces are enclosed chambers designed and constructed with the utmost precision to heighten the sense of sight and perception. Fabricated with an aperture in the ceiling open to the sky, the rooms create as dynamic visual experience of light and atmosphere that changes hourly, daily, and seasonally. Turrell has created several permanent Skyspaces around the world since 1975. Each is unique and reflects not only the surrounding architecture and landscape, but also ambient conditions and changing light. The Henry Skyspace is the first to combine two key aspects of Turrell’s work in one installation: the Skyspace itself and an exterior architectural illumination. This unique combination provides both an interior Skyspace experience and a public art component that can be viewed day and night from the University of Washington campus and adjacent streets. On rainy days a moveable dome covers the opening and a secondary light source forms another Turrell light work: a taut plane of light and color suspended in the ceiling’s elliptical aperture, creating a seemingly infinite visual space.

One of the nation’s most celebrated contemporary artists, Turrell has exhibited work in major museums around the world and received numerous commissions for permanent artworks. He has been honored with both Guggenheim and MacArthur Fellowships, and recently received the Academie Française Chevalier des Arts et Lettres. The skyspace design and site plan were created by Turrell in collaboration with Bruce Donnally of Donnally Architects, Seattle, and KrekowJenningsInc. This project provided an opportunity for local engineers, architects, and contractors to work together with a visionary artist on a unique work of art that serves as a lasting legacy of the Henry’s commitment to the commissioning and presentation of contemporary art.