Remembering Robert Wilson, master of spectacle and light (1941-2025)

Theatre artist Robert Wilson has died in Water Mill, New York, on 31 July 2025. He was 83 years old. The news of his passing was shared across his platforms.

'We are heartbroken to announce the passing of Robert M. Wilson, artist, theatre and opera director, architect, set and lighting designer, visual artist, and founder of The Watermill Center,' reads the note, adding that his death followed a brief illness.

'While facing his diagnosis with clear eyes and determination, he still felt compelled to keep working and creating right up until the very end.

'His works for the stage, on paper, sculptures and video portraits, as well as The Watermill Center, will endure as Robert Wilson's artistic legacy.'

Robert Wilson's artistic legacy

Robert Wilson worked predominantly in theatre and opera, establishing himself as the leading creative to revolutionise the field of visual arts in theatre performance. Since the 1960s, he worked tirelessly to innovate within the genre, with some of his most notable works – such as Philip Glass' Einstein on the Beach, from the 1970s – are still remembered today and a source of inspiration to creatives operating in multiple fields.

'Through his signature use of light, his investigations into the structure of a simple movement, and the classical rigour of his scenic and furniture design, Wilson has continuously articulated the force and originality of his vision,' reads the artist's biography.

Integrating varied creative experiences into his work, he could seamlessly combine light, space and performance in touching, memorable ways. In particular, his work with lighting remains a key inspiration to creatives the world over, as he used light as a powerful dramatic device in a contemporary, always innovative manner.

‘As a theatre maker, I see light as being a central character of a work,’ he told Wallpaper* in a 2016 interview. ‘It’s not only there to illuminate the actors. It can be seen in the context of a play, or as an element on its own.’

Although Wilson worked predominantly in theatre, his influence was widespread across the creative industries, and his polyhedric nature was also evident in the pool of collaborators with whom he regularly created his incredible works, which ranged from Estonian composer Arvo Pärt to Lady Gaga, from Illy coffee to Hermès (and Wallpaper*, as he served as Guest Editor for our magazine in October 2010).

In 1992, he founded the Water Mill Center, 'a laboratory for the arts and humanities providing a global community the time, space and freedom to create and inspire.' Offering creative residences and education programmes across a variety of specialties, the centre is now considered among the leading art institutions championing emerging artistic talent in the USA.

Within the realm of design, Wilson created several chair concepts, glass designs and lighting. The latter, a project with Italian brand Slamp, who worked with Wilson on the lighting design for La Traviata.

Among his last projects was 'Mother', an installation commissioned by Salone del Mobile in April 2025 to illuminate Michelangelo's Rondanini Pietà at Milan's Castello Sforzesco. Featuring a musical score by Pärt, the installation used light to offer a new reading of the Italian sculptor's final, unfinished work. 'I’m creating my own vision of the artist’s unfinished masterpiece, torn between a feeling of reverential awe and profound admiration,' he told us.

British singer-songwriter Anna Calvi, who worked with Wilson on the 2017 opera The Sandman, wrote: 'You were a true genius – your work expressed all the absurdity, horror and beauty of life. How lucky we all were to be able to share in your inner world. You were so warm, charismatic, and yet intimidating, as all the very brightest minds are.'

The announcement of his passing concludes: 'There will be memorials for Robert Wilson held in the near future in locations that were especially meaningful to him. We will announce those in time.'