Sol LeWitt: Primary Legacy
Sol LeWitt Wall Drawing #349 1981/2010 / photo Mercer Union
In recent years, both the Dia Art Foundation and MASS MoCA have mounted lengthy tribute exhibitions to American artist Sol LeWitt, who passed away in 2007 and was best known for wall drawings. The Dia exhibition, which started in 2006 and wraps up this fall, features 14 key early works, while the MASS MoCA show, which opened in 2008 and will continue, remarkably, until 2033, is a full-scale retrospective of 105 large-scale drawings in a 27,000-square-foot space. This weekend in Toronto, Mercer Union wraps up its own homage to the artist—a recreation of an extensive drawing that LeWitt did in 1981 for the then-fledgling artist-run space. For that initial installation, artists and board members Peter Blendell, Michael Davey, Jamie Lyons, Robert McNealy, Jaan Poldaas, Judith Schwarz, Renée Van Halm, Cheryl West and Robert Wiens helped LeWitt with a 10-figure, three-colour installation. Resized for the expanded dimensions of the current gallery and supervised by the artist's estate, the current installation is a stunning example of LeWitt’s ability to give two-dimensional lines, shapes and planes the heft of sculptural form. An added highlight is an archive room that documents the 1981 exhibition and offers first-hand proof of LeWitt’s remarkable generosity towards other artists. (1286 Bloor St W, Toronto ON)
Sol LeWitt Wall Drawing #349 1981/2010 / photo Mercer Union
Sol LeWitt Wall Drawing #349 1981/2010 / photo Mercer Union
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