James Turrell: The Light Inside June 8–September 21, 2013

James Turrell, End Around: Ganzfeld, 2006, neon and fluorescent light, the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, gift of the estate of Isabel B. Wilson in memory of Peter C. Marzio. © James Turrell
James Turrell, End Around: Ganzfeld, 2006, neon and fluorescent light (2007 installation at Pomona College Museum of Art, Claremont, California), the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, gift of the estate of Isabel B. Wilson in memory of Peter C. Marzio. © James Turrell / Photograph by Florian Holzherr
James Turrell, Caper, Salmon to White: Wedgework, 2000, LED and fluorescent light, the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Museum purchase funded by the estate of Isabel B. Wilson in memory of Peter C. Marzio. © James Turrell
James Turrell, Acro, Green, 1968, projected light, the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Museum purchase. © James Turrell
James Turrell, Aurora B: Tall Glass, 2010, LED, the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, gift of the estate of Isabel B. Wilson in memory of Peter C. Marzio. © James Turrell
James Turrell, Tycho White: Single Wall Projection, 1967, projected light, the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, gift of the estate of Isabel B. Wilson in memory of Peter C. Marzio. © James Turrell
James Turrell, The Light Inside, 1999, neon and ambient light, the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Museum commission, gift of Isabel B. and Wallace S. Wilson. © James Turrell
James Turrell, Site Plan Roden Crater, 1990, photo emulsion, wax acrylic, and tushe on Mylar, the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Manfred Heiting Collection, Museum purchase with funds provided by the Caroline Wiess Law Accessions Endowment Fund. © James Turrell
James Turrell, printed by Peter Kneubühler, First Light Portfolio: B1: Raethro, 1989–90, aquatint, the Museum of Fine Arts Houston, Peter Blum Edition Archive, 1980–1994, Museum purchase with funds provided by the Alice Pratt Brown Museum Fund. © James Turrell
Photograph by Florian Holzherr
James Turrell: The Light Inside explores the remarkable career of James Turrell (born 1943). Raised in a Quaker household and coming of age in the radical climate of the 1960s, Turrell has created some of the most beautiful art of our time, treating light as a material presence in perfectly calculated installations. Viewers are invited to investigate the margins of perception, to measure the passage of time, and—in the artist’s words—“to enter the light.”
This exhibition features seven immersive light environments, ranging from Turrell’s first projections of the late 1960s to his most recent Tall Glass series of 2010–13, as well as three print portfolios and site plans relating to Roden Crater. All are from the collection of the MFAH, and most have been created for this exhibition. Also on view is The Light Inside, the Museum’s beloved light tunnel, commissioned by Isabel B. and Wallace S. Wilson to connect the Caroline Wiess Law Building with the Audrey Jones Beck Building.
James Turrell: The Light Inside is part of a nationwide celebration of Turrell’s work. It was conceived in conjunction with concurrent exhibitions on view this summer at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art and the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York. The appreciation of Turrell's work in Houston extends from the MFAH to the artist’s two local Skyspaces: One Accord at the Live Oak Friends Meeting House in the Heights, and Twilight Epiphany at Rice University in the Museum District.
Related Publications
James Turrell: A Retrospective and the limited edition of “The Light Inside” Turrell Portfolio are available through the MFA Shop (713.639.7360) and the Museum’s Hirsch Library (713.639.7325).
This exhibition is organized by the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, in conjunction with the Los Angeles County Museum of Art and the Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation, New York.
Generous funding is provided by:
The Brown Foundation, Inc.
Additional support is provided by:
Sotheby’s
Leslie and Brad Bucher
Sara Paschall Dodd
The exhibition is dedicated to the memory of Isabel B. Wilson, Chairman Emeritus of the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston.
All programs at the MFAH this year receive generous support from Mr. William J. Hill.