doug wheeler reflects an unreachable horizon with light-filled room

doug wheeler reflects an unreachable horizon with light-filled room
(above) LC 71 NY DZ 13 DW, 2013
reinforced fiberglass, flat white titanium dioxide latex, LED light, and DMX control
771 x 811 3/8 x 219 inches (1958.3 x 2060.9 x 556.3 cm)
photo by tim nighswander, imaging4art © 2014 doug wheeler; courtesy david zwirner, new york/london

doug wheeler
david zwirner, new york
now through april 5th, 2013

long fascinated by the illusory quality of landscape, american artist doug wheeler presents a luminous installation at david zwirner, new york, their second solo exhibition of the artist’s work. occupying the ground floor gallery, ‘LC 71 NY DZ 13 DW’ is a light and space experience, taking viewers on a physical sojourn of gravity, dimension and time. best known for his seminal light environments developed in the 1960s and 70s, wheeler’s new ‘rotational horizon work’ visually and conceptually connects to his previous ouvure, yet emphasizes the way in which light almost imperceptibly changes along the horizon as the earth turns. by mimicking the sensation of the earth’s rotational pull and curvature, wheeler alters the traditionally static viewing experience of a work of art, destabilizing our sense of equilibrium and imparting the feeling of moving with the earth towards an unreachable place.

LC 71 NY DZ 13 DW, 2013
reinforced fiberglass, flat white titanium dioxide latex, LED light, and DMX control
771 x 811 3/8 x 219 inches (1958.3 x 2060.9 x 556.3 cm)
photo by tim nighswander, imaging4art © 2014 doug wheeler; courtesy david zwirner, new york/london

an avid flyer since childhood and an eventual pilot himself, wheeler has continually investigated the characteristics of landscapes as they are seen from the vantage point of an airplane. approaching a receding horizon, passengers are able to watch the terrain below rapidly transform when, in actuality, their flight path traces out the contours of the far-reaching globe. the installation taking over the rotund volume mirrors this illusion and brings visitors to david zwirner on a perceptive journey of space.

LC 71 NY DZ 13 DW, 2013
reinforced fiberglass, flat white titanium dioxide latex, LED light, and DMX control
771 x 811 3/8 x 219 inches (1958.3 x 2060.9 x 556.3 cm)
photo by tim nighswander, imaging4art © 2014 doug wheeler; courtesy david zwirner, new york/london

LC 71 NY DZ 13 DW, 2013
reinforced fiberglass, flat white titanium dioxide latex, LED light, and DMX control
771 x 811 3/8 x 219 inches (1958.3 x 2060.9 x 556.3 cm)
photo by tim nighswander, imaging4art © 2014 doug wheeler; courtesy david zwirner, new york/london

LC 71 NY DZ 13 DW, 2013
reinforced fiberglass, flat white titanium dioxide latex, LED light, and DMX control
771 x 811 3/8 x 219 inches (1958.3 x 2060.9 x 556.3 cm)
photo by tim nighswander, imaging4art © 2014 doug wheeler; courtesy david zwirner, new york/london