Jackie Winsor, Rope Trick, 1967-1968; Eva Hesse, (test piece), 1967; Douglas Huebler, Untitled, c. 1965; and Anne Truitt, Dawn City, 1963, on view in less: minimalism in the 1960s.
Larry Bell, Old Timer, 1969; Dan Flavin, White around a Corner, 1965; and Robert Morris, Column, 1961/2017, on view in less: minimalism in the 1960s.
Robert Grosvenor, Untitled (sculpture with wheels), 1969; Jackie Winsor, Rope Trick, 1967-1968; Carl Andre, 49 Pieces of Steel, 1967; Douglas Huebler, Untitled, c. 1965; and Anne Truitt, Dawn City, 1963, on view in less: minimalism in the 1960s.
Anne Truitt, Dawn City, 1963; Carl Andre, 49 Pieces of Steel, 1967; Larry Bell, Old Timer, 1969; Dan Flavin, White around a Corner, 1965; Robert Morris, Column, 1961/2017; and Jackie Winsor, Rope Trick, 1967-1968, on view in less: minimalism in the 1960s.
Tony Smith, Generation, 1965; Donald Judd, Untitled (DSS #108 - first version), 1967; and Ronald Bladen, Thor, 1965-1969, on view in less: minimalism in the 1960s.
John McCracken, Red Plank, 1966; Robert Smithson, Untitled, 1967; and Richard Artschwager, Small Construction with Indentation, 1966, on view in less: minimalism in the 1960s.
Judy Chicago, Clear Domes on Dark Base, 1968; Sol LeWitt, #8, 1966; and Walter De Maria, High Energy Bar, 1966, on view in less: minimalism in the 1960s.
Sol LeWitt, #8, 1966, on view in less: minimalism in the 1960s.
Including work by Carl Andre, Richard Artschwager, Larry Bell, Ronald Bladen, Judy Chicago, Dan Flavin, Robert Grosvenor, Eva Hesse, Douglas Huebler, Donald Judd, Sol LeWitt, Walter De Maria, John McCracken, Robert Morris, Fred Sandback, Tony Smith, Robert Smithson, Anne Truitt, and Jackie Winsor.
John McCracken
Red Plank, 1966
Fiberglass, polyurethane
144 x 24 x 3 ¼ inches (365.8 x 61 x 8.3 cm)
Private Collection
© The Estate of John McCracken / Courtesy The Estate of John McCracken and David Zwirner
Sol LeWitt
#8, 1966
Aluminum and baked enamel
84 x 84 x 84 inches (213.4 x 213.4 x 213.4 cm)
Private Collection
© 2023 Sol LeWitt / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
Judy Chicago
Clear Domes on Dark Base, 1968
Clear acrylic domes on mirrored glass on Plexiglas base
Overall dimensions: 38 ¼ x 30 x 30 inches (97.2 x 76.2 x 76.2 cm)
Table: 34 1/2 x 30 x 30 inches (87.6 x 76.2 x 76.2 cm)
Each dome: 3 ¾ x 8 7/8 inches (9.5 x 22.5 cm)
Courtesy of the artist and Jessica Silverman, San Francisco
Photo: Mark Serr
© 2023 Judy Chicago / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
Carl Andre
49 Pieces of Steel, 1967
Hot-rolled steel
70 ½ x 70 ½ x ½ inches (179.1 x 179.1 x 1.3 cm)
Private Collection
© 2023 Carl Andre / Licensed by VAGA at Artists Rights Society (ARS), NY
Robert Smithson
Untitled, 1967
Glass, five elements
60 x 60 inches (152.4 x 152.4 cm)
Private Collection
© 2023 Robert Smithson / Licensed by VAGA at Artists Rights Society (ARS), NY
New York, NY – January 5, 2023 – Acquavella Galleries is pleased to present less: minimalism in the 1960s, an exhibition featuring nineteen sculptural works by preeminent artists associated with the artistic movement that is now referred to as minimalism. The show is organized by Director Michael Findlay, and is on view from February 1–March 11, 2023 at Acquavella’s New York location.
The term “minimalism,” now widely understood as an artistic and aesthetic style, was not always so ubiquitous. Associated with eliminating non-essential forms and exposing an object’s essence, this art historical movement emerged between 1961 and 1969 from a crucible of invention by mostly New York based artists—with artists in London and elsewhere also having a significant impact. The new aesthetic expressed itself sculpturally through largely un-pedestalled objects in a wide variety of materials. Despite varying in scale, texture, form, and palette, each work possessed a common enigmatic simplicity and clarity.
The artists included in this exhibition were at the center of this new movement in the early stages of their artistic practices; a single work by each artist is on view to underscore the conception of minimalist practices as a collective movement. Although today some of minimalism’s groundbreaking artists are better known than others, this installation revisits the impact their work had at the time of its creation. Many of the artists included here were also featured in Kynaston McShine’s seminal Primary Structures exhibition at The Jewish Museum in 1966– including Carl Andre, Richard Artschwager, Larry Bell, Ronald Bladen, Judy Chicago, Walter de Maria, Dan Flavin, Robert Grosvenor, Douglas Huebler, Donald Judd, Sol LeWitt, John McCracken, Robert Morris, and Anne Truitt—which is now posited as a critical juncture in the development of minimalism; however, the word “minimal” is mentioned in the exhibition catalogue only once, a reflection of the relative newness of the style.
Michael Findlay states: “What I hope to do with this exhibition is to introduce the viewer to the vision of these artists that I encountered well before they had significant critical or commercial status. They indeed made history, but the shared goal was to make things that were new and exciting. The bracing shock of those encounters… has never left me.”
The exhibition is accompanied by an online catalogue with supplemental materials and commentary, featuring an essay by Michael Findlay, as well as a panel discussion and podcast.
About Acquavella Galleries
For over 100 years, Acquavella Galleries has dealt in paintings, sculptures, and works on paper of unparalleled quality. Renowned for its expertise in the fields of 19th, 20th, and 21st century art, the gallery has sold important paintings and sculpture to private collectors and museums world-wide and regularly presents museum-quality exhibitions of Impressionist, modern, postwar, and contemporary masters. Founded by Nicholas Acquavella in the early 1920s, the gallery is now a third-generation, family-owned business, run by Bill, Eleanor, Nicholas, and Alexander Acquavella: Bill joined his father Nicholas in 1960, Bill’s daughter Eleanor joined in 1997, and his sons Nicholas and Alexander joined in 2000 and 2003 respectively.
Today, the gallery exhibits and deals in works by artists such as Francis Bacon, Jean Michel-Basquiat, Pierre Bonnard, Alexander Calder, Paul Cézanne, Edgar Degas, Willem de Kooning, Lucian Freud, Alberto Giacometti, Jasper Johns, Henri Matisse, Joan Miró, Claude Monet, Pablo Picasso, Wayne Thiebaud, and Andy Warhol, among the other giants of the late 19th, 20th, and early 21st century. On the primary market, the gallery represents contemporary artists Miquel Barceló, Wang Yan Cheng, Jacob El Hanani, Damian Loeb, and Tom Sachs.
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Media Contacts
Tyler Mahowald | THIRD EYE | tyler@hellothirdeye.com | +1 212-355-9009 x 311
Alison Peknay | THIRD EYE | alison@hellothirdeye.com | +1 212-355-9009 x 312
Van Lundsgaard | THIRD EYE | van@hellothirdeye.com | +1 212-355-9009 x 315
We get that chance in the show currently on view at Acquavella Galleries, which was guided into existence by Michael Findlay and enables us to see another side of Minimalism. The exhibition assembles some nineteen pieces by nineteen different artists, all working on a scale which, if not exactly domestic, enables us to appreciate individual works in all their playfulness and humor.
