Dorfman Projects presents Sol LeWitt: The Complex Form, a focus exhibition exploring Sol LeWitt’s study of the complex form through works on paper, ephemera and sculpture, with a spotlight on his 1988 monumental work in metal, Complex Form #6.

Although LeWitt is typically regarded as both a minimalist and a conceptual artist, this period of work, which ranged from the mid 80’s to early 90’s, represents a zenith in his exploration of geometry and a step away from the minimal. Aptly named, the complex forms incorporate more complicated shapes, non-right angles, and compositions defined by juxtaposition rather than systematic organization.

From the start of his career, LeWitt followed his fascination with the cube, using it as unit, medium, and subject for many of his most iconic works. Over time however, LeWitt opened up to different types of building blocks for his constructions. Beginning with elemental forms such as the triangle and pyramid, LeWitt’s compositional play led him to include more irregular shapes such as parallelograms and quadrilaterals. In the most mature examples of this extensive body of work, which includes drawing, sculpture, prints, and monumental wall drawings, LeWitt developed complex arrangements that contain a diversity of geometric forms within a single piece.

Though LeWitt had by no means exhausted the cube completely—he continued to work with it until the end of his life—the complex form period remains one of the most intriguing and least studied phases of his career. The sculpture on view, Complex Form #6, is in many ways the finest and most evolved example of a complex form. Through the dynamic addition and subtraction of shapes, this large-scale work makes an exhaustive study of angles that change constantly in relation to the viewer’s position around it. Unlike earlier work that meticulously adhered to systems and order, these complex pieces personify quiet and studied rebellion. With supporting prints, sculpture, and ephemera, this exhibition illustrates the evolution of LeWitt’s process and his arrival at this culminating masterpiece.

Sol LeWitt was born in Hartford, Connecticut in 1928 and died in New York City in 2007. His work has been exhibited extensively worldwide. To name only a few examples, in 2000, the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art hosted a major retrospective (which travelled to the Museum of Modern Art, Chicago and the Whitney); in 2006 Dia: Beacon hosted a large scale exhibition of wall drawings called Drawing Series…; and in 2008, the Yale University Art Gallery, Mass MoCA, and the Williams College Museum of Art collaborated to present Sol LeWitt: A Wall Drawing Retrospective, which will remain at Mass MoCA for the next 25 years.