* 1939 in Globe, USA. Lives and works in Santa Fe and Los Angeles
American Artist
Known for: Emvironmental Light Installations
Art historical context: Light and Space Movement, Minimal Art, Op Art
Doug Wheeler was a pioneer of the so-called Light and Space movement that flourished in Southern California in the 1960s and 1970s, and included such artists as Robert Irvin and James Turell. Wheeler is known for his use of industrial light to create Conceptual environments built within the white walls of the gallery. His installations emphasize the viewer’s experience and participation over the artist’s hand or the work’s materials. Wheeler highlights space almost entirely through the effects of light, using mainly ultraviolet fluorescent, quartz-halogen, and neon bulbs. In his installations, white paint, diffuse light, minimal forms, and simple designs allow light to shine as the central element of construction. By dematerializing the interior space, Wheeler transforms these rooms into entire abstract worlds that often suggest a vacuum or void.
Exhibited works
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DW 68 VEN MCASD 11, 1968/2011. GF | A | Installation, double row of daylight neon lights. 18 x 34 x 33 feet. (1) | |
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SA MI DW SM 2 75 Continuum Atmospheric Environment, 1975. GF | A | Plywood, covered plaster walls, halogens, black UV fluorescent light, mechanical dimming system, 2-room space: 20 x 10 x 12 feet and 30 x 30 x 16 feet. (2)
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SA MI 75 DZ NY 12, 1975/2012. GF | A | Architecturally modified space. Reinforced fiberglass, LED lights, high intensity fluorescent lights, UV fluorescent lights, quartz halogen lights, DMX control. The installation was composed of two parts: 240 x 360 x 144 inches (room 1), 564 x 576 x 192 inches (room 2), total space: 564 x 702 inches Saturated light and space are used in a way that removes visual reference points for the viewer. The programmed lightning evokes a day-into-night-into-day rhythm: over the course of a 32 minute cycle, it switches from dark blue to intense white and back again to dark blue. | |
| Links David Zwirner Gallery | Further informations 1 | 2 | 3
Credits All reproductions © 2014 Doug Wheeler; courtesy David Zwirner, New York/London. (1) Installation view: Phenomenal: California Light, Space, Surface at Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego, San Diego and La Jolla, California, September 25, 2011 to January 22, 2012 (2) Installation view: Doug Wheeler, Galleria Salvatore Ala, Milan, 1975, photography by Tim Nighswander Imaging4Art | ||