For over half a century, the American artist James Turrell, born in Los Angeles, California in 1943, has worked directly with light and space to create artworks that engage the viewer with the limits and wonder of human perception. This year and to coincide with Art Basel Paris, the legend takes over two galleries: Gagosian’s Le Bourget’s impressive space and Almine Rech’s bijou Avenue Matignon gallery.

Turrell’s concept of a Glasswork is a unique aperture — rectangular or elliptical, horizontal or vertical, rarely some other shapes have been created — in which the work composition, light and colors, develop gradually over the course of an hour perceptible through the use of translucent materials. This will be the focus of Almine Rech’s show. In the past, Turrell’s Glassworks were realized in neon, but for the last 15 years the artist has turned to LED technologies, which allow for richer hues and a lower light level, offering the artist more freedom as to which shapes, transitions, and color combinations he can include within the series. The works in this series are the result of Turrell’s research, started in the mid 1960s, on light as a material that affects perception of the human eye.

“I want to make something that people direct their attention toward. It’s not that different from when I was a child in the crib, fascinated by the light I saw above me. We usually use light to illuminate things. I am interested in the “thingness” of light itself. Light does not so much reveal, as it is the revelation itself.” James Turrell said.

Gagosian’s show will feature two new large immersive installations: a Ganzfeld piece, All Clear, and a Wedgework piece, Either Or (both 2024). Additionally included are two new Cross Corner projection works—Raethro, Yellow and Afrum, Lavender (both 2024)—and six new in-wall Glassworks pieces that present every configuration of the series. Also on view are holograms, models, prints, and plans of Roden Crater (1976–), along with survey lap desks used in their production, as well as other photographs, prints, and archival materials.

Image: James Turrell, Dhatu (2010), de la série Ganzfeld (1976–en cours). © James Turrell. Photo: Florian Holzherr. Courtesy the artist and Gagosian.