/ Corinth Canal, The Diamond

For over half a century, the American artist James Turrell (b. 1943) has worked directly with light and space to create artworks that engage viewers with the limits and wonder of human perception. His fascination with the phenomena of light is related to his personal, inward search for mankind’s place in the universe. Influenced by his Quaker upbringing, which he characterizes as having a ‘straightforward, strict presentation of the sublime,’ Turrell’s art prompts greater self-awareness through a similar discipline of silent contemplation, patience and meditation.

Corinth Canal, The Diamond is the newest and largest format in James Turrell’s ongoing series of Glass wall-installations begun in 2004. Each development within this series references different natural phenomena across the world. The work draws inspiration from some of the narrowest passages of water used for international navigation, from within these passages, while one can only glimpse the broad horizon line, the sky is framed by a high natural wall. Historically, each of these passages have been significant as breaks between bodies of land or for connecting one sea to another. For the most part, while still in use, these canals are too narrow for the passage of modern-day ships. Working within the geometric frame of the diamond, these works link back to Turrell’s earliest experiments using projected light, which cast sharp shapes of light to form bodies of color that seemed to float in space. A parallel can also be drawn to his series of modern-day, which frame the sky through a defined oculus.

＊The installation starts at 10:00-12:30 and 14:30-17:00.