SOME/ART : JAMES TURRELL AT PACE LONDON

james turrell sensing thought 2005 © james turrell courtesy pace gallery

james turrell sojourn 2006 © james turrell courtesy pace gallery

james turrell sojourn 2006 © james turrell courtesy pace gallery

james turrell sojourn 2006 © james turrell courtesy pace gallery

james turrell sojourn 2006 © james turrell courtesy pace gallery

james turrell sojourn 2006 © james turrell courtesy pace gallery

james turrell yukaloo,  wide glass installation 2011 © james turrell, florian holzherr

The very first encounter might signalise flatness and stillness, but it is deceptive - James Turrell’s works unfold gradually and unobtrusively, and demand a certain rate of attention span. The reward will follow - once the invisible portals opened, an endless depth of metamorphosing light stretches out and envelopes the viewer. Is it transcendence into the unknown, or a trompe l’oeil? Being looked at vigilantly, the works appear to be growing in size, progressively occupying the entire field of vision, and finally becoming the extension of sight - the gallery surroundings melt away, and the horizons of perception expand.

The morphing hues and tones range from galvanising to tranquil, from tenderly sensual and almost tactile to detached and melancholic. As if these mutations configured to test the visitor’s sensibility and psychosomatic awareness of light and colour. Turrell’s works radiate silence - but that of a particularly welcoming and appealing type - the one you desire the most while caught in the midst of a swarming megalopolis. Intrinsically meditative, they constitute a backdrop for introspection and subconscious dialogue.

Even with the works which are relatively moderate in size, James Turrell succeeds both in achieving immensity, and in unveiling the new phenomenological dimensions, which are hypnotic and enigmatic, infinite and indefinite. 

Exhibition until April 5th 2014 Pace London 6 Burlington Gardens

Text by Nat Urazmetova | S/TUDIO