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Sol LeWitt cemented his reputation as one the most critical figures of 20th-century American art by helping found the movements Minimalism and Conceptualism. His art, comprised of the most basic shapes and blocks of vibrant color, was often organized by logic and geometry but still maintained a sense of playfulness and freedom. LeWitt's sculptures, which he preferred to be called "structures," use repeated shapes to build architecture-like forms. In this work, perfect white cubes are arranged in a deceptively simple composition. While the sculpture has the finished dimensions of 109 x 55 ½ x 55 ½ inches, it could in theory, extend in any direction to infinity using exactly the same formal units - the word "modular" in the title reinforces the idea of endless identical attachments. In the urban setting of the sculpture park, the work also calls to mind office buildings or condos with their endless stacks of similar units. While LeWitt was not interested in emotional content within his work, he still acknowledged the visual dynamism of the negative spaces and sharp lines created by cubes silhouetted against space. These subtle shifts in the viewer's perception and perspective were crucial factors in his work.
DimensionsOverall: 109 × 55 1/2 × 55 1/2 in., 500 lb. (276.9 × 141 × 141 cm, 226.8 kg.)
Accession Number 2015.16
Classificationssculpture
CopyrightARS
ProvenanceArtist. (Sotheby's); John and Mary Pappajohn [purchased from previous, 2005]; Des Moines Art Center [gift from previous, 2015]
Images (3)
Audio (1)
