The preeminent American artist Sol LeWitt (1928–2007, b. Hartford, Connecticut), whose pioneering style defies categorization, is well-known for his wall drawings as well as his many variations of open cube structures, complex forms, and works on paper. A critical departure from the tradition of object-based art, he believed in the primacy of the idea, famously stating: “The idea becomes a machine that makes the art.” LeWitt executed his first wall drawing for Paula Cooper Galleryʼs inaugural show in 1968. In November 2008, “Sol LeWitt: A Wall Drawing Retrospective” opened at the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art, where it will remain on view for 35 years. Recent one-person presentations include those at the Institute of Contemporary Art, Miami, and the Modern Institute, Glasgow. LeWittʼs works are in numerous public collections, including the Museum of Modern Art, the Whitney Museum of American Art, the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, the Art Institute of Chicago, the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, the Centre National dʼArt Moderne Georges Pompidou, Paris, the Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam, Turinʼs Castello di Rivoli, the Moderna Museet Stockholm and the Tate Gallery, London.
