Curated by Dean Swanson; organized and traveled by the Madison Museum of Contemporary Art.

Exhibition Sponsor: Alice F. & Harris K. Weston
Supporting Sponsor: Carl & Elizabeth Solway

Sol LeWitt was one of the most influential artists of his generation and an active collector of contemporary art. LeWitt x 2 is comprised of two components presented in partnership with the Cincinnati Art Museum, who will exhibit Selections from the LeWitt Collection. The Contemporary Arts Center will exhibit Sol LeWitt: Structure and Line, featuring the work of this esteemed American artist over the course of his long and prolific career.

As a key figure in a generation of artists that rejected Abstract Expressionism, LeWitt bridged Minimalism and Conceptual Art by emphasizing ideas as the basis for creating art. In his words, "the idea is the machine that makes art." Exemplifying this approach are his monumental wall drawings, which are executed directly on the wall according to the artist's instruction, often by his assistants. Since completing his first wall drawing in 1968, he created over twelve hundred wall drawings for museums and public spaces around the world. LeWitt is also well known for his three-dimensional structures, a term he preferred to sculpture. Closely linked to the structures are LeWitt's works on paper, which range from his early explorations of line to colorful gouaches and the recent Scribble drawings. Sol LeWitt: Structure and Line will prominently feature drawings from the 1970's; gouaches from the early 1990's to present; a sampling of maquettes made for large-scale concretes block structures; and a number of his structures. These works are drawn from LeWitt's personal collection and provide an excellent overview of his career.

Generous funding for LeWitt x 2 has been provided by the Steinhauer Charitable Trust; J.H. Findorff & Son Inc.; Peggy Hedberg and John Niederhuber; John Neis and Chele Isaac; the Dane County Cultural Affairs Commission with additional funds from the Endres Mfg. Company Foundation and the Overture Foundation; the Terry Family Foundation; the Art League of the Madison Museum of Contemporary Art; and a grant from the Wisconsin Arts Board with funds from the State of Wisconsin.

Sol LeWitt, brushstrokes, 2000, gouache on paper, 22 1/2 x 29 1/2 inches. © The LeWitt Collection, Chester, CT.
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