Back in 1970, the Tate Gallery helped define a moment in American art history with its exhibition, ‘Three Artists From Los Angeles: Larry Bell, Robert Irwin, Doug Wheeler’. Those artists, as the exhibition demonstrated, had staked out new territory in the course of postwar art by taking on perception itself. Rather than working with paint and canvas or with steel and welders, they modulated light and space.
Now, three New York galleries have managed to bring that historical exhibition full circle in separate presentations devoted to each of those artists. Last year, Pace put on ‘Robert Irwin: Cacophonous’, a heavily trafficked show that featured new works with fluorescent light, while last week, David Zwirner opened ‘Doug Wheeler: Encasements’, bringing together five of his light environments into its New York space. Now, with Hauser & Wirth’s ‘Larry Bell: From the ‘60s’, the group has been fortuitously reunited (if only in nearly contemporaneous gallery listings).
On view until 9 April, the show is spread over three floors of the gallery’s Upper East Side space, providing a robust overview of Bell’s early work. A collection of paintings – geometric forms that set the stage for later three-dimensional experiments – introduce visitors to his language. This group includes Lil’ Orphan Annie, a seminal piece from 1960, created in bright orange acrylic.
On the second and third floors, several important three-dimensional works, including Standing Walls II, Untitled Trapezoid Improvisation, and Made for Arolsen I hold court, while his prism shelves animate the second floor. Throughout these upper floors, visitors are confronted with the idiosyncratic experiments in perception for which Bell is known. It's a welcome return.
Spread over three floors of the gallery’s Upper East Side space, it provides a robust overview of Bell’s early work. Pictured: Untitled, 1970
A detailed view of Bell’s prism shelves, Untitled, 1970
Among the works shown are a collection of paintings – geometric forms that set the stage for later three-dimensional experiments. Pictured left: Ghost Box, 1962. Right: Untitled, 1962
Another of Bell’s early paintings, Homage to Baby Judy, 1960
Visitors will be confronted with the experiments in perception for which Bell is known. Pictured: Glacier, 1999
‘Larry Bell: From the ‘60s’, along with Pace and David Zwirner’s recent Robert Irwin and Doug Wheeler shows, comprises a defacto regrouping of the conceptual triumverate that defined American art history with the Tate Gallery’s 1970 exhibition ‘Three Artists From Los Angeles: Larry Bell, Robert Irwin, Doug Wheeler’. Pictured: Larry Bell
INFORMATION
’Larry Bell: From the ‘60s’ is on view until 9 April. For more information, visit Hauser & Wirth’s website
Photography courtesy the artist and Hauser & Wirth
ADDRESS
Hauser & Wirth
32 East 69th Street
New York, NY 10021
-
Tadao Ando brings a fruity minimalism to his first watchThe revered Japanese architect collaborates with Cauny on his first full watch design
-
Taschen take a deep-dive into the surrealist world of Salvador DalíTaschen's Dalí. BABY SUMO unites rare imagery with the artist's writing for a sumptous two-volume tome
-
These are the best new interior design projects in AustraliaFrom a beachside retreat to a modern butcher shop, the 2025 Australian Interior Design Awards highlight the multitude of talent down under
-
Out of office: what the Wallpaper* editors have been up to this weekThis week saw the Wallpaper* team jet-setting to Jordan and New York; those of us left in London had to make do with being transported via the power of music at rooftop bars, live sets and hologram performances
-
Photographer Geordie Wood takes a leap of faith with first film, DiversGeordie Wood delved into the world of professional diving in Fort Lauderdale for his first film
-
New book celebrates 100 years of New York City landmarks where LGBTQ+ history took placeMarc Zinaman’s ‘Queer Happened Here: 100 Years of NYC’s Landmark LGBTQ+ Places’ is a vital tribute to queer culture
-
See the fruits of Niki de Saint Phalle and Jean Tinguely's creative and romantic union at Hauser & Wirth SomersetAn intimate exhibition at Hauser & Wirth Somerset explores three decades of a creative partnership
-
A major Takashi Murakami exhibition sees the world in kaleidoscopic colourThe Cleveland Art Museum presents 'Takashi Murakami 'Stepping on the Tail of a Rainbow', exploring outrage and escapist fantasy
-
Ai Weiwei’s new public installation is coming soon to Four Freedoms State Park‘Camouflage’ by Ai Weiwei will launch the inaugural Art X Freedom project in September 2025, a new programme to investigate social justice and freedom
-
Leonard Baby's paintings reflect on his fundamentalist upbringing, a decade after he left the churchThe American artist considers depression and the suppressed queerness of his childhood in a series of intensely personal paintings, on show at Half Gallery, New York
-
Desert X 2025 review: a new American dream grows in the Coachella ValleyWill Jennings reports from the epic California art festival. Here are the highlights
