Landmarks, the University of Texas’ curated public art program, has just landed two high-profile pieces from the late conceptual and minimalist artist Sol LeWitt. Circle with Towers and Drawing #520 will be added to the Landmarks collection, to be displayed in the entrance and auditorium of the Bill & Melinda Gates Computer Science Complex and Dell Computer Science Hall.
"Sol LeWitt is one of the truly great artists to have emerged from minimalism and conceptualism in the arts," Douglas Dempster, dean of the college of fine arts, said in a statement.
Circle with Towers was acquired from Madison Square Park Conservancy in New York.
Dempster described the pieces as "perfect, post-modern celebrations of the promise and future of computer science." He said Circle with Towers and Drawing #520 are "among the very most important art acquisitions in the university’s vast holdings."
Circle with Towers stands 14 feet tall and spans 25 feet. The eight towers are arranged as a meeting ground for the public. The piece was acquired from Madison Square Park Conservancy in New York.
Drawing #520 was acquired directly from DeWitt’s estate, and its forthcoming display will be the first in 25 years, when it was a part of the Whitney Museum of Art’s 1987 Whitney Biennial.
"Circle with Towers and Wall Drawing #520 provide an important introduction to the nature of conceptual art for many in our community," Landmarks director Andrée Bober said in a statement. "Having these two works in close proximity allows viewers to recognize the consistent elements in LeWitt’s work and appreciate the collaborative spirit and contextual interpretations of his ideas."
LeWitt, considered to be the founder of the conceptual and minimalist postwar art movements, was known for his geometric, three-dimensional structures of varying sizes and for the more than 1,200 drawings he completed. Although his dedication to rendering art in its most basic shapes and colors made him a celebrity of sorts in the art world, he was known for being a reclusive, rarely seen creator.
"[LeWitt’s] work exhibits classic virtues of high art — beauty, precision, mastery of materials, economy of means, signature inspiration — while at the same time being completely iconoclastic and playful," Dempster said.
Circle with Tower by Sol LeWitt.
