American minimalist artist Dan Flavin, who is known for his use of white and pastel-hued fluorescent lighting installations, will be the subject of two concurrent exhibitions organised by David Zwirner Gallery in New York and London next week. For art enthusiasts of a certain vintage, the shows might evoke a sense of déjà vu: the London presentation recreates Flavin’s 1976 exhibitions (or “situations” as Flavin preferred to describe them) of coloured fluorescent light, which took place in Leo Castelli Gallery in New York and Galerie Heiner Friedrich in Köln.
A near-simultaneous transatlantic exhibition in New York will mirror Flavin’s Kornblee Gallery installation from 1967. These displays are an opportunity to enjoy an established artist’s early work. In reviving the shows, David Zwirner Gallery, which has represented Flavin’s estate since 2009, is allowing exhibitions to travel not only across space but time too.