Seeing the Light

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I’ve been lukewarm about Dan Flavin all these years. That’s odd, really, because as someone who works reductively and with luminous color in my own painting, I should have embraced Flavin’s oeuvre. Better later than never. I’ve seen the light. Then again, this is the first time I've ever seen this particular piece.
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I walked into the Paula Cooper Galler to find a long rectangular structure dwarfed by the cavernous space. My first look was to the right, where I saw a yellow green glow pouring out of the structure and bathing the wall opposite. I followed it. What you see below is what I saw, in the way I saw it.
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From inside, the stucture creates a luminous hallway that you can enter. Beyond the wall of light is a black void tinged pink around the edges.

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Walking around the back of the dark gallery, you see both ends of the structure. The color above is pretty accurate (a challenge for a small point-and-shoot trying to understand fluorescent.)

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Approaching the opposite entrance . . .

. . .  and entering. I love this view





This work is Untitled (to Barry, Mike, Chuck and Leonard), 1972-1975; 8’ x 8’ x (no length given). Edition of three, with one fabricated. The show was up through October 30. You can see more images of additional work on the gallery website.