American artist Doug Wheeler is known as the pioneer of the "Light and Space" art movement. Over the past nearly 60 years, his creative medium has evolved from brushes and canvases to light and space. He presents more than just visible works of art. It is also an illusory space that allows people to immerse themselves in it. Through the artist's recent solo exhibition at David Zwirner Gallery in New York, we visited the artist's abstract philosophy.
Connect people’s feelings about the surrounding space Doug Wheeler, who has been passionate about painting since childhood, studied at the Chouinard Art Institute in Los Angeles in the early 1960s. He once thought he would engage in commercial art, but later discovered the fun and possibility of "creating purely for the sake of art." He was especially interested in expressionism. Feel interested. At that time, he painted a series of all-white paintings without any patterns. He placed the neon lights behind the canvas, allowing the light to scatter on the wall, making the paintings blend into the wall. In 1965, he replaced the canvas with acrylic sheets and placed neon lights on the ground, making the light the protagonist. Wheeler said: "This definitely made me know that I can use light to create a space that can actually be entered, not just seen from the outside, but immersed in it." Artist Daniel Buren believes that Wheeler's creations are not works but spaces Spatial event, Wheeler himself said: "My light art installation connects not only vision, but also our feelings about the surrounding space."