Lewitt Returns

Rice Gallery's Closing Exhibition

SOL LEWITT, “Glossy and Flat Black Squares(Wall Drawing #813),” 1997. Site-specific installation for Rice Gallery. Reinstalled as Rice Gallery’s closing exhibition. On view Feb. 9–June 30. Opening Celebration Feb. 9, 2017, at 5 p.m. Photo by Paul Hester
SOL LEWITT, “Glossy and Flat Black Squares(Wall Drawing #813),” 1997. Site-specific installation for Rice Gallery. Reinstalled as Rice Gallery’s closing exhibition. On view Feb. 9–June 30. Opening Celebration Feb. 9, 2017, at 5 p.m. Photo by Paul Hester

Winter 2017
By Lynn Gosnell

FOR MORE THAN 20 YEARS, THE RICE ART GALLERY has been the only university gallery in the nation devoted to commissioning site-specific installation art. Early-career and well-known artists have constructed temporary works, transforming the gallery’s signature 40-by-44-foot “white box” space in completely different ways. In February, Rice Gallery will come full circle by reinstalling one of its earliest pieces, Sol LeWitt’s “Glossy and Flat Black Squares (Wall Drawing #813),” 1997, as its final exhibition.

LeWitt (1928–2007), a leading figure in minimalism and a pioneer of conceptual art, designed this wall drawing in relation to the architectural space and dimensions of the Rice Gallery. As with a musical score that remains soundless on paper until it is played, LeWitt’s wall drawing exists as a set of written instructions that will be re-created through drawing and painting. The exhibition will remain on view through June 30, when Rice Gallery will close permanently.

A Sampling of Past Rice Gallery exhibits

Henrique Oliveira, “Tapumes,” 2009
Henrique Oliveira, “Tapumes,” 2009
Yasuaki Onishi, “reverse of volume RG,” 2012
Yasuaki Onishi, “reverse of volume RG,” 2012
Stephen Hendee, “SuperThrive,” 2000
Stephen Hendee, “SuperThrive,” 2000
Yayoi Kusama, “Dots Obsession,” 1997
Yayoi Kusama, “Dots Obsession,” 1997