AUSTIN.- This two part exhibition focuses both on the artworks of Sol LeWitt and on his personal collection of contemporary art. Sol LeWitt: Structure and Line documents the full arc of the artist's career. Renowned for his contribution to minimalism and conceptual art, LeWitt's pencil drawings, brilliantly colored gouaches, and "structures" made of wood, aluminum, and fiberglass have defined and pushed the limits of art-making for over forty years. Throughout his career critics have admired how his work synthesizes left and right brain creativity and provokes both intellectual and emotional responses. Selections from the LeWitt Collection showcases works by an exciting array of national and international artists including Alice Aycock, Bernd and Hilla Becher, Alighiero Boetti, Chuck Close, Gilbert & George, Hans Haacke, Eva Hesse, On Kawara, Shirin Neshat, and Robert Ryman.

Sol LeWitt is one of the most influential figures in the history of twentieth-century art. Working in New York City in the early 1960s, LeWitt was among the many young artists who challenged the prevailing art of the time by emphasizing that the idea behind the work of art was more important than the execution. This thinking is evident in the 41 works included in Sol LeWitt: Structure and Line. Created by LeWitt between 1965 and 2006, these works include detailed ink and pencil drawings, brilliantly colored goauches, and “structures” made of wood, aluminum, and fiberglass. Many of these works demonstrate the meticulous execution of an idea.

LeWitt’s focus on the artistic concept was also instrumental in his development of wall drawings: large-scale works of art that are completed directly on the walls of galleries and other public spaces. For many years, LeWitt executed these works himself, using written instructions that he had drafted. In recent decades, a team of assistants have painstakingly applied the bands of color and meticulous lines for the works.