Focus: Lawrence Weiner

Lawrence Weiner was born in 1942 in New York, where he lived and worked up until his death in 2021. In the 1960s, Weiner became a leading figure of Conceptual art, rejecting the artistic object and traditional methods of creation. Exponents of the new movement queried the true nature of art, the materials with which it can be created and how it can be presented. Weiner is chiefly associated with his wall installations—a verbal approach to exploring the things that forever surround and affect us. In his characteristically minimalistic style, Weiner used spray paint or vinyl lettering to apply words directly onto walls and create texts that by virtue of both their meaning and visual impact provoke reflection and discussion. His succinct phrases operate on several levels, and by communicating directly with the viewer, Weiner relied on their artistic interpretation and contemplation to reach a kind of transcendence. Selected solo exhibitions include Cristina Guerra Contemporary Art, Lisbon (2020); Centro de Arte Contemporáneo Málaga (2017); Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam (2014); MACBA, Barcelona (2013); Whitey Museum of American Art, New York (2007); Tamayo Museum, Mexico City (2004); Guggenheim Museum, Bilbao (2004); Museum Ludwig, Cologne (1995); Walker Art Center, Minneapolis (1994); Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Washington (1990) and Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam (1988). Selected public collections include Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen, Rotterdam; Centre George Pompidou, Paris; DIA Foundation, Beacon: Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York; Guggenheim Museum, Bilbao; Israel Museum, Jerusalem; Museum of Modern Art, New York; Statens Museum for Kunst, Copenhagen; Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam and Whitney Museum of American Art, New York. Photo: Maria Sprowls, 2017.