The Chinese University of Hong Kong
Hong Kong, China. September 2024
CONCENTRIC INFLUENCES OF SOL LEWITT - PART 1
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Artists: Irene Barberis, Fransje Killaars, Janet Passehl, Wilma Tabacco
International Curator: Irene Barberis, Hong Kong/China Curator: Lukas Tam Wai Ping _____________________________________________ “My curatorial visions come from an artist’s vision and impulse – perhaps they are too big and at times seemingly impossible, but I think all things are possible, and the risk to establish ‘vision’, very worthwhile.” The Sol LeWitt Project: Ten Countries does this. The undergirding influences, the sense of ‘permission to do’, and the unexpected and hidden impacts of Sol LeWitt’s life and practice fuel the research in The Concentric Influences of Sol LeWitt: Foundations, Pivots and Place project across ten countries. It is exciting and exhilarating to know just how deeply Sol touched artists over decades and how his ideas continue to play a pivotal role in Art, Architecture and Education today. Irene Barberis __________________________________________________ The “concentric circle” of The Sol LeWitt Project brings together artists, curators, art historians, art critics, collectors, and cultural figures to form a core group dedicated to exploring the meanings of art and the profound influence Sol LeWitt has had on various domains, including art, architecture, and intellectual thought. Through friendship, dialogue, and collaboration, this collective not only examines LeWitt’s impact but also celebrates the beautiful ways in which art manifests in everyday life. Lukas Tam Wai Ping |
[ CATALOGUE INTRODUCTION ]
The Concentric Influences of Sol LeWitt:
Core Artists (Part1) Ten Countries; Hong Kong / China
International Curator: Dr Irene Barberis
Co – Curator, Hong Kong, Lukas Tam Wai Ping
Conceptual art’ in the 1960s is a term for many who associate ‘Idea Art’, with terms such as ‘Pure Art ‘or ‘Beyond-the-Object-Art’. LeWitt’s quote, “No matter what form (the artwork) may finally have it must begin with an idea. It is the process of the conception and realization with which the artist is concerned.”
Looking at the artworks of the abstract paintings by Ad Reinhardt, the conceptual drawings of Sol LeWitt and the minimal sculptures by Carl Andre from the 1950s to the 1970s, their thoughts and artworks have influenced in generations of artists worldwide. This exhibition of The Concentric Influences of Sol LeWitt: Core Artists (Part1) Ten Countries; Hong Kong / China is a current example of the form of research now being carried out across the globe by Dr. Barberis, and the Universities, Museums and Galleries that join with her in each country to find ten artists in their locations which have and are influenced by Sol LeWitt, his thoughts and ideas.
I am very pleased to join with Irene in this project at the Hui Gallery at the Chinese University in Hong Kong.
Over the past four years, Dr. Barberis has selected the four ’Core Artists’, who have all been close to Sol LeWitt in work, the outworking of his projects, in friendship and with his ideas. Janet Passehl (USA), Wilma Tabacco (Australia), Fransje Killaars (Netherlands) and Irene Barberis (Australia/UK).
The qualities I feel in Janet Passehl’s artworks are the parallel compositions of cloth in space, reflecting ideas of both symmetry and co-existence. The physicality of her cloth in the weaving process carries stories and intimacies that one can see in the traced marks as well as in the inconsistencies of the weaving. Passehl has mentioned that these sensibilities are within her process; actions such as ‘folding, ironing, cutting, draping’ referring to the personal, the body and the memories contained in the materials.
Wilma Tabacco’s paintings of coloured shapes, are like projected imaginings of walls and spaces, somehow referring back to her long-term interest in architectural spaces, she has said “You can’t be in Italy and not notice heraldic iconography with its bristling, crisp abstract forms, particularly vertical and horizontal bars. These simple colourful arrangements were eventually to become an integral part of my visual vocabulary.”
This architectural interest can also be found in Fransje Killaars’ installations, using colorful lengths of fabric to wrap spaces, creating new identities, sometimes fill with soft sculptures showing the tactility of human-like abstract paintings with figuration in the mind.
Vivid colors have characterized Irene Barberis’ works for decades. While in her residencies in Sol LeWitt’s Chester studio, she responded to LeWitt’s music tapes which he left in his studio in 2007, in paint on polyester film. She listened intently to his tapes of Bach as well as St Mathew’s Passion one and two, working/painting over the full length of his 12 ft. studio table in Chester. Her works create a luminescent glow and refer to her training in classical ballet. She choreographs color, in fact the title of her main work is “Choreographing Color Series”, the layering of these compositions and the juxtapositions transmit bodily sensations, visually. Architectonics #16 is the third form of work by Barberis in this project and responds directly to the architecture of the Hui Gallery, as she has constructed an ‘architectonic’ work in every location of The LeWitt Project.
These artists, above all, show us their deep, intense, and mature art practices, demonstrating sensational emotional works imbued in beauty and strength. The Hui Gallery enthusiastically welcomes The LeWitt Project to CUHK, Hong Kong.
The "concentric circle" of The LeWitt Project brings together artists, curators, art researchers, art critics, collectors, and cultural figures from all over the world, forming an essential group dedicated to exploring the meanings of art, and the profound influence that Sol LeWitt has had on art, architecture, and intellectual thought. Through friendship, dialogue, and collaboration, this collective not only examines LeWitt's impact but also celebrates the beautiful ways in which art manifests in everyday life.
The Concentric Influences of Sol LeWitt:
Core Artists (Part1) Ten Countries; Hong Kong / China
International Curator: Dr Irene Barberis
Co – Curator, Hong Kong, Lukas Tam Wai Ping
The Concentric Influences of Sol LeWitt:
Core Artists (Part1) Ten Countries; Hong Kong / China
International Curator: Dr Irene Barberis
Co – Curator, Hong Kong, Lukas Tam Wai Ping
Conceptual art’ in the 1960s is a term for many who associate ‘Idea Art’, with terms such as ‘Pure Art ‘or ‘Beyond-the-Object-Art’. LeWitt’s quote, “No matter what form (the artwork) may finally have it must begin with an idea. It is the process of the conception and realization with which the artist is concerned.”
Looking at the artworks of the abstract paintings by Ad Reinhardt, the conceptual drawings of Sol LeWitt and the minimal sculptures by Carl Andre from the 1950s to the 1970s, their thoughts and artworks have influenced in generations of artists worldwide. This exhibition of The Concentric Influences of Sol LeWitt: Core Artists (Part1) Ten Countries; Hong Kong / China is a current example of the form of research now being carried out across the globe by Dr. Barberis, and the Universities, Museums and Galleries that join with her in each country to find ten artists in their locations which have and are influenced by Sol LeWitt, his thoughts and ideas.
I am very pleased to join with Irene in this project at the Hui Gallery at the Chinese University in Hong Kong.
Over the past four years, Dr. Barberis has selected the four ’Core Artists’, who have all been close to Sol LeWitt in work, the outworking of his projects, in friendship and with his ideas. Janet Passehl (USA), Wilma Tabacco (Australia), Fransje Killaars (Netherlands) and Irene Barberis (Australia/UK).
The qualities I feel in Janet Passehl’s artworks are the parallel compositions of cloth in space, reflecting ideas of both symmetry and co-existence. The physicality of her cloth in the weaving process carries stories and intimacies that one can see in the traced marks as well as in the inconsistencies of the weaving. Passehl has mentioned that these sensibilities are within her process; actions such as ‘folding, ironing, cutting, draping’ referring to the personal, the body and the memories contained in the materials.
Wilma Tabacco’s paintings of coloured shapes, are like projected imaginings of walls and spaces, somehow referring back to her long-term interest in architectural spaces, she has said “You can’t be in Italy and not notice heraldic iconography with its bristling, crisp abstract forms, particularly vertical and horizontal bars. These simple colourful arrangements were eventually to become an integral part of my visual vocabulary.”
This architectural interest can also be found in Fransje Killaars’ installations, using colorful lengths of fabric to wrap spaces, creating new identities, sometimes fill with soft sculptures showing the tactility of human-like abstract paintings with figuration in the mind.
Vivid colors have characterized Irene Barberis’ works for decades. While in her residencies in Sol LeWitt’s Chester studio, she responded to LeWitt’s music tapes which he left in his studio in 2007, in paint on polyester film. She listened intently to his tapes of Bach as well as St Mathew’s Passion one and two, working/painting over the full length of his 12 ft. studio table in Chester. Her works create a luminescent glow and refer to her training in classical ballet. She choreographs color, in fact the title of her main work is “Choreographing Color Series”, the layering of these compositions and the juxtapositions transmit bodily sensations, visually. Architectonics #16 is the third form of work by Barberis in this project and responds directly to the architecture of the Hui Gallery, as she has constructed an ‘architectonic’ work in every location of The LeWitt Project.
These artists, above all, show us their deep, intense, and mature art practices, demonstrating sensational emotional works imbued in beauty and strength. The Hui Gallery enthusiastically welcomes The LeWitt Project to CUHK, Hong Kong.
The "concentric circle" of The LeWitt Project brings together artists, curators, art researchers, art critics, collectors, and cultural figures from all over the world, forming an essential group dedicated to exploring the meanings of art, and the profound influence that Sol LeWitt has had on art, architecture, and intellectual thought. Through friendship, dialogue, and collaboration, this collective not only examines LeWitt's impact but also celebrates the beautiful ways in which art manifests in everyday life.
The Concentric Influences of Sol LeWitt:
Core Artists (Part1) Ten Countries; Hong Kong / China
International Curator: Dr Irene Barberis
Co – Curator, Hong Kong, Lukas Tam Wai Ping