US artist Dan Flavin (b. 1933) presents, Lights at mumok, Vienna. Running until 3 February 2013, Flavin uses commercially available fluorescent tubes in standard sizes and colours to create a (literally) sparkling exhibiton. Bound together with a sensual aura, the artist’s works are precise and carefully calculated. Using objects from everyday life, Flavin draws art and normal living together. Although an array of fantastical colours, the thin tubes reflect a minimalist sobriety.
The exhibition is made up of fluorescent tubes affixed to the walls. Stripped of anything unnecessary, the work develops a luminous power that breaks down the boundaries that separate rational form and poetic appearance. One of the main points of interest is the European Couples in which the fluorescent tube squares dissolve the corners of the room and transports viewers into an imaginary world of blurred colour and space. Alongside the lights there will be drawings, and together these document Flavin’s process of creation and his artistic sensitivity.
Showcasing around 30 works, Lights spans selected icons through to early individual and seminal works all constructed of fluorescent tubes. The mumok show will reveal the diversity and development of Flavin’s body of work.
Dan Flavin: Lights, until 3 February, mumok, MuseumsQuartier, Museumsplatz 1, A-1070 Vienna.
1. Dan Flavin a primary picture, 1964 Rote, gelbe und blaue Leuchtstoffröhre, Photo: Billy Jim, New York © Stephen Flavin/VBK Wien, 2012.
2. Dan Flavin, untitled (for Ad Reinhardt) 1d, 1990, Gelbe, pinke, rote, blaue und grüne Leuchtstoffröhren, Private Collection, Vienna, Photo: courtesy of David Zwirner, New York, © Stephen Flavin/VBK Wien, 2012.
3. Dan Flavin an artificial barrier of blue, red and blue fluorescent light (to Flavin Starbuck Judd), 1968, Blaue und rote Leuchtstoffröhren, Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York, Panza Collection, Photo: mumok, © Stephen Flavin/VBK Wien, 2012.