Untitled
1967-68
Robert Irwin (American, 1928-2023)
Not on View

Irwin's disc paintings of 1966-69 erase the distinction between painting and sculpture. The subtly sprayed, convex discs are lit with low-intensity spotlights, which dematerialize their edges. Free-floating apparitions without visible support, the discs fuse with their background and the surrounding ambience. These works invite viewers to contemplate an indefinite, glowing composite of light and shadow that suggests pure energy rather than form or image.

Details

  • Artist Name: Robert Irwin (American, 1928-2023)
  • Title: Untitled
  • Date: 1967-68
  • Medium: Acrylic lacquer on formed acrylic plastic (with central band)
  • Dimensions: 54 in. diameter (137.2 cm)
  • Credit Line: Norton Simon Museum, Museum Purchase, Fellows Acquisition Fund
  • Accession Number: P.1969.065
  • Copyright: © 2017 Robert Irwin / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York Reproduction, including downloading of ARS works is prohibited by copyright laws and international conventions without the express written permission of Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York

Object Information

Robert Irwin, sold 1969/05/26 to;
Fellows of the Pasadena Art Museum, given 1969/06/04 to;
Pasadena Art Museum, Pasadena, 1969-1975;
Norton Simon Museum, Pasadena.

Robert Irwin

  • Museum of Contemporary Art (Los Angeles, Calif.), 1993-06-20 to 1993-08-15
  • Kölnischer Kunstverein, 1994-03-15 to 1994-05-15
  • Musée d'art moderne de la ville de Paris, 1994-06-22 to 1994-09-30
  • Madrid, Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía, Madrid, 1995-01-31 to 1995-04-17

Selections from the Permanent Collection and the Norton Simon Museum

  • Museum of Contemporary Art (Los Angeles, Calif.), 1989-02-05 to 1989-05-28

Otis: Nine Decades of Los Angeles Art

  • Los Angeles Municipal Art Gallery, 2006-01-20 to 2006-04-02

See the Light: The Luminist Tradition in American Art

  • Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, 2012-10-13 to 2013-01-28

American Art Since 1950 from the Norton Simon Museum

  • Museum of Contemporary Art (Los Angeles, Calif.), 1990-06-30 to 1990-09-09

West Coast 1945-1969

  • Pasadena Art Museum, 1969-11-24 to 1970-01-18

American Art of the 1960s from the Norton Simon Museum

  • Los Angeles, The Temporary Contemporary, 1990-03-13 to 1990-06-13
  • Museum of Contemporary Art (Los Angeles, Calif.), 1988-10-04 to 1989-02-05

46 N. Los Robles: A History of The Pasadena Art Museum

  • USC Pacific Asia Museum, 2011-11-17 to 2012-04-08

Made in America: Contemporary Painting and Sculpture from the Norton Simon Museum

  • Norton Simon Museum, 1999-06-24 to 2000-03-26

Radical Past: Contemporary Art and Music in Pasadena, 1960-1974

  • Norton Simon Museum, 1999-02-07 to 1999-06-06
  • Armory Center for the Arts, 1999-02-07 to 1999-04-11
  • Art Center College of Design (Pasadena, Calif.), 1999-02-07 to 1999-04-25
  • Musée d' Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris, Robert Irwin, pp. 81, 90
  • Pasadena Art Museum, West Coast 1945-1969, 1969,
  • The Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles, Robert Irwin, 1994, pp. 117, 192
  • Armory Center for the Arts/Art Center College of Design, Radical Past: Contemporary Art & Music in Pasadena, 1960-1974, 1999, pp. 53, 108
  • Humblet, Claudine, La Nouvelle Abstraction Américaine 1950-1970, 2003, Vol. III p. 1649
Listen
Audio Tour
English | Español
Read
Audio Tour Transcript
English | Español
Escuchar
Audioguía
English | Español
Leer
Transcripción de Audioguía
English | Español

Additional Artwork by Artist

Untitled Robert Irwin 1968
Untitled Robert Irwin 1962-63

Image reproduction permission may be granted for scholarly or arts related commercial use. All image requests, regardless of their intended purpose, should be submitted via the reproduction request form.

Images may be protected by copyright and other intellectual property rights. Additional permission may be required.

Approved requests for the reproduction of an image will receive a contract detailing all fees and conditions of use of the image. Upon receipt of both the signed contract and full payment, the Office of Rights and Reproductions will provide the image. A complimentary copy of the published material must be provided to the Norton Simon Museum.

Reproduction Request Form