Sol LeWitt and his affinity for Australian art

Arts & Entertainment Exhibitions Scene

Rita Bratovich
August 25, 2022

Image: Sol LeWitt Tangled bands 2002 gouache on paper 95.5 x 125.5 cm sheet John Kaldor Family Collection © Estate of Sol LeWitt/ARS. Copyright Agency Photo © AGNSW User Sym error: "" is not a valid field.

The iconic works of American artist Sol LeWitt are being shown alongside traditional paintings by Anmatyerre artists Emily Kame Kngwarreye and Gloria Tamerre Petyarre in an inspired new exhibition at the Art Gallery of NSW.

Sol LeWitt: Affinities and Resonances, presented in collaboration with Kaldor Public Art Projects, will feature selected works from the prolific and very influential 20^th Century artist, LeWitt.

In progress installation view of Sol LeWitt Wall drawing #955, Loopy Doopy (red and purple) 2000 in the John Kaldor Family Hall at the Art Gallery of New South Wales, first drawn by Paolo Arao, Nicole Awai, Hidemi Nomura, Jean Shin, Frankie Woodruff at the Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, November 2000; current installation drawn by Kit Bylett, Andrew Colbert, Troy Donaghy, Szymon Dorabialski, Gabriel Hurier, Rachel Levine, Owen Lewis, Nadia Odlum, Tim Silver, Alexis Wildman at the Art Gallery of New South Wales, August 2022 © Estate of Sol LeWitt/ARS, Copyright Agency, photo © Art Gallery of New South Wales, Christopher Snee

LeWitt’s output was extensive. Born in 1928, he gained wide recognition in the 1960s with his vividly coloured, abstract wall paintings and architectural sculptures which he called structures.

He is widely regarded as having founded the Minimalism and Conceptual Art movements.

When LeWitt first encountered the paintings of Australian Central Desert indigenous artists, in particular, Kngwarreye, he was drawn to them, finding an affinity with the artworks.

Emily Kame Kngwarreye Untitled 1995, synthetic polymer paint on polycotton, 245 x 201 cm, Private collection, Sydney © Estate of Emily Kame Kngwarreye

Gloria Tamerre Petyarre Awely for the mountain devil lizard (Twenty-one women) 1996, 21 panels: synthetic polymer paint on canvas, 98 x 70 cm each panel; 294 x 490 cm overall, Art Gallery of New South Wales, gift of Yuana and Stephen Hesketh 1997 © Estate of Gloria Tamerre Petyarre

This exhibition explores the similarities among the artworks, placing them in physical proximity and revealing an uncanny, unlikely parallelism.

A centrepiece work – LeWitt’s “Wall drawing #955: loopy doopy (red and purple), 2000” – is also the inspiration for three musical compositions especially commissioned for this exhibition. To compose each piece, a different Indigenous Australian musician and American musician were paired: Chuck Johnson with JWPATON; Steve Gunn with amby downs; and Claire Rousay with E.Fishpool.

Sol LeWitt Irregular grid 2001, gouache on paper, 76.1 x 101.5 cm John Kaldor Family Collection at the Art Gallery of New South Wales © Estate of Sol LeWitt

“The new music covers multiple genres – at moments expansive and singular in others. Padded ambience collides with rhythmic, glitchy harmonies and melodies while clusters chords disorientate and swirl in sync with the hard edge ‘waves’ in the loopy doopy (purple/red),” says Jonathan Wilson, curator, music and community at the Art Gallery of NSW.

Portrait of Sol LeWitt in La Jolla, CA , 1979. Image courtesy of the LeWitt Estate

He describes the musical compositions and upcoming live performances as a “sonic bridge between the visual works in the exhibition… completing a synergised visual and musical experience.”

The musicians will perform at the Art Gallery of NSW during the exhibition and the music will also be available via QR code to listen to at any time.