Vija Celmins and Doug Wheeler

An archival photo of Doug Wheeler and Vija Celmins in New York, dated 1981.

Dialogues: The David Zwirner Podcast

March 2, 2020

In this episode, the artists Doug Wheeler and Vija Celmins revisit their years in Venice Beach, California in the late 1960s, a scene crowded with figures like Charles Bukowski, Allen Ginsberg, Robert Irwin, and James Turrell. Wheeler and Celmins—old friends and visionaries of their medium—gossip, rehash, map, and even correct this vital piece of art history, while tackling a central question of art along the way: How to impress your sensibility upon the world through your work.  Vija Celmins was the subject of a recent, critically-beloved retrospective at the Met Breuer and SFMOMA. Doug Wheeler currently has an exhibition at David Zwirner in New York through March 21, 2020; a definitive monograph of his career was recently published by David Zwirner Books. 

Image: Doug Wheeler and Vija Celmins in New York, 1981

Dialogues: The David Zwirner Podcast