Anthony McCall: New Solid Light Works and Early Drawings
Sean Kelly is delighted to present New Solid Light Works and Early Drawings, Anthony McCall’s first solo exhibition in Los Angeles. Occupying the entire gallery, the exhibition features two new ‘solid-light’ installations on the first floor, and a survey of black and white photographs, works on paper and preparatory drawings that span McCall’s career on the third floor. There will be an opening reception on Thursday, July 13, 6-8pm. The artist will be present.
Anthony McCall is widely recognized for his solid-light installations, a series he began in 1973 with the ground-breaking Line Describing a Cone, in which a volumetric form composed of projected light slowly transforms in three-dimensional space. His new solid-light works show how McCall has progressed this format, evolving his work over time through innovative installations and configurations. Upon entering the main gallery, visitors encounter McCall’s Split Second (Mirror) III, 2022, a single projection in which the “split” is created by interrupting the throw of light with a wall-sized mirror. The plane of light is reflected onto a double-sided screen hanging in space to create a triangulated viewing field, enabling the viewer to pass through and see the shifting volumetric form from both front and back.
The second half of the main gallery features McCall’s vertical installation Skylight, 2020. This smaller-scale piece stands alone with a gradually morphing light sculpture projected from above onto a four-foot plinth, which allows the viewer to walk around the cone of light and observe it from all sides. This work is accompanied by a sound element by acclaimed composer and musician David Grubbs. Echoing throughout the space is the sound of a distant thunderstorm accompanied by the intermittent flashes of an electrical storm. As with all of McCall’s light installations, the works evolve slowly, yet quickly enough for the viewer to clearly perceive its movement and progression.
The third-floor gallery space features a select overview of photographs and preparatory drawings illustrating the arc of McCall’s career, offering the visitor context and insight for a fuller understanding of the artist’s oeuvre.
Anthony McCall currently lives and works in New York. His work has been the subject of solo exhibitions at institutions such as the Mieres Centru Cultural, Mieres, Spain; The Albright-Knox Art Gallery, Buffalo, New York; the Denver Art Museum, Colorado; Pioneer Works, Brooklyn, New York; The Hepworth Wakefield, United Kingdom; Lismore Castle Arts, Waterford, Ireland; EYE Filmmuseum, Amsterdam, The Netherlands; Tate Modern; London, UK; Moderna Museet, Stockholm, Sweden; Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris, France; Serpentine Gallery, London, UK; and Artists Space, New York. McCall’s work has been exhibited at the Institut d’Art Contemporain, Villeurbanne, France; Musée de Rochechouart, France; SFMoMA, San Francisco; Hangar Bicocca, Milan, Italy; the Serralves Museum of Contemporary Art, Porto, Portugal; the Hamburger Bahnhof, Berlin, Germany; the Faena Arts Center, Buenos Aires, Argentina; LOK | Kunstmuseum St Gallen, Switzerland; LAC Lugano Arte e Cultura, Lugano, Switzerland, amongst others. McCall’s work is represented in numerous collections, including Tate, London, England; Museum of Modern Art, New York; Museum für Moderne Kunst, Frankfurt, Germany; Museu d’Art Contemporani de Barcelona, Spain; Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; SFMoMA, San Francisco; the Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris, France; the Moderna Museet, Stockholm, Sweden; and the Hirshhorn Museum, Washington, DC.