Los Angeles Modern Auctions (LAMA)

American conceptual artist Sol LeWitt created over 1,200 colorful, geometric wall drawings in addition to producing works in a variety of mediums, including sculpture, photography, and printmaking. After his initial frustration as a graphic artist in New York, he became inspired by minimalist artists and decided to reorganize his artistic vision. He began exhibiting his drawings and structures throughout New York and the world. In 1967, he published his “Paragraphs on Conceptual Art,” his unconventionally fresh ruminations in which he wrote, “In conceptual art the idea or concept is the most important aspect of the work. The idea becomes the machine that makes the art.” Through this lens, he nurtured ideas of shapes, lines, and colors to be painted onto walls, often by other artists who would follow his detailed instructions, which would eventually be painted over to make room for the next exhibit, a transient reality of art that he accepted and even preferred. LeWitt translated his ideas into structures that usually incorporated a succession of open-ended cubes formed into small-scale pieces and massive outdoor constructions, such as Four-Sided Pyramid (1999) at the National Gallery of Art. In addition to his many permanent commissions, he has been given retrospectives of his print and wall drawings at the Museum of Modern Art and the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art.

Literature:
Kimmelman, Michael. “Sol LeWitt, Master of Conceptualism, Dies at 78.” Nytimes.com. New York Times, 9 Apr. 2007. Web. 25 May 2011.
LeWitt, Sol. “Paragraphs on Conceptual Art.” Artforum 10 (1967): 79-83. Print.