Prepare to enter a world where light itself becomes a living, breathing entity—one that bends, flexes, and dances to its own ethereal rhythm. This October, Almine Rech Paris invites you to witness the latest opus from James Turrell, the modern-day alchemist who transforms photons into pure poetry. As the gallery unveils its 12th collaboration with Turrell over the past three decades, the anticipation is as palpable as the light that will soon flood its halls.
Turrell’s newest creation belongs to his ongoing Tall Glass / Wide Glass series—a two-decade-long exploration that’s less about light and more about its mystical metamorphosis. Imagine a canvas where the brushstrokes are beams of light, and the colors are emotions flickering at the edge of perception. This is no static image; it’s a living dream, unfolding before your eyes like a sunrise that refuses to be pinned down to any one moment. The light here doesn’t just illuminate; it breathes, pulses, and whispers secrets in a language only your eyes can understand.
In this latest piece, Turrell invites viewers into a state of perpetual becoming—a place where light and color are caught in an endless dance, like celestial bodies tracing invisible orbits in the dark void of space. Over the course of an hour, the diaphanous materials in his installation bend and flex, as if the very fabric of reality is being woven anew. The experience is akin to watching the tides of an otherworldly ocean, where waves of color wash over you in a slow, deliberate cadence, each hue more evocative than the last.
In a shift as profound as the move from candlelight to electricity, Turrell transitioned from neon to LED in 2015. This wasn’t just a change in medium; it was a transformation in the very essence of his work. With LEDs, Turrell unlocked a treasure trove of new possibilities—a spectrum of colors so rich, it feels as though the very air around you is infused with their essence. This technological leap has allowed him to sculpt light with the precision of a master craftsman, creating forms that are as fluid and dynamic as the emotions they evoke.
But to look for objects or images in Turrell’s work is like trying to catch the wind in your hands. “My work has no object, no image, and no focus,” Turrell has famously said, with the enigmatic air of a Zen master offering a koan. What he offers instead is an experience—an immersion into a world where light is both the guide and the journey. It’s a meditation in motion, a silent symphony that plays out in the theater of your mind, leaving you with a sense of wonder that lingers long after you’ve left the gallery.
Picture yourself standing before one of Turrell’s Tall Glass / Wide Glass creations, the light shifting and swirling like the auroras of a distant planet. The colors move with a grace that defies the laws of physics, each one a note in a melody that you can’t hear but can somehow feel in your bones. It’s as if you’re witnessing the dance of the cosmos itself, a ballet of photons that speaks directly to your soul.
This is the magic of James Turrell—an artist who doesn’t just create with light, but who sculpts the very essence of perception. His upcoming exhibition at Almine Rech Paris, running from October 14 to December 21, 2024, is an invitation to step into a realm where light becomes a living force, one that challenges and transforms the way you see the world. Whether you’re a seasoned aficionado or a curious newcomer, this is an experience that promises to blur the lines between reality and dream, leaving you forever changed.
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Words by AW.
Photo by Almine Rech Paris.