James Turrell Books

For over fifty years, James Turrell (*1943, Los Angeles) has explored the (im)materiality and perception of light, establishing himself as one of the most significant artists of our time. He uniquely allows audiences to experience light as an artistic medium through both sensory and intellectual engagement. Describing his work as “perceptual art,” Turrell creates large installations that fill spaces with light, manifesting in soft seas of color or luminous fogs, pushing viewers to the edge of their perception. This book offers an extensive overview of Turrell’s body of work, showcasing art from various phases of his career since the 1960s. An exhibition featuring his work took place from September 6 to October 28, 2018, at the Museum Frieder Burda in Baden-Baden.

In 1967, when 23-year-old James Turrell created his first light projection, he broke new ground in a way that would decisively influence his generation and the development of art. Though Turrell worked in the context of Minimal Art and the Earthwork movement, his art at this early stage displayed -- as it still does -- a sensibility all his own. This book reveals the ways in which Turrell's art has developed, and offers an extensive overview of his work from its earliest stages to the present. Turrell is above all preoccupied with the phenomenon of light -- and his architectural projects and installations often transform their surroundings into translucent sculptural bodies. From his first "Projection Pieces" to the "Roden Crater Project" in the Arizona desert, this volume presents over 30 years of this seminal artist's work, and includes critical essays by Daniel Bernbaum, Georges Didi-Hubermann, Michael Rotondi, and Paul Virilio.

James Turrell works with phenomena of light like no other artist. Since the 1960s he has been building astonishing spaces that allow light to be experienced both in its material and its spiritual qualities. In recent years Turrell has developed an increasing interest in the staging of architecture through the use of light. He has realized several landmark works with this in mind--his light installation for the opening of the Kunsthaus Bregenz, his light design for an administrative building in Leipzig, and the light events on the Pont du Gard, a Roman bridge in Southern France. James Lighting a Planet documents his all-inclusive staging of Planet m, including numerous photographs, sketches, interviews, comparative illustrations and an enlightening essay. Planet m is the Bertelsmann pavilion, the secret landmark of the EXPO 2000 at Hanover, which takes on a nocturnal second life through Turrell's ever-shifting atmospheres of light.