Monumental Work by Sol LeWitt
Installed at Birmingham Museum of Art

January, 2002 -- The Birmingham Museum of Art recently installed two large-scale works- one painting and one sculpture- by preeminent American artist Sol LeWitt. These pieces are significant additions to the Museum's collection.

The dazzling new wall painting is titled Bands of Color in Various Directions (2001), and was specially created by LeWitt for the Museum's rear façade. The 6-panel, multicolor work measures a full horizontal width of 83 feet, 7 inches. Bands of Color in Various Directions, which is clearly visible from Interstate-20/59, is on view in the Upper Plaza of the Charles W. Ireland Sculpture Garden.
         


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Bands of Color in Various Directions is comprised of panels constructed of aluminum, as opposed to his trademark painted wall murals. The panels were constructed according to a precisely scaled, painted maquette created by LeWitt, which was then reproduced and transferred into a blueprint. The color application introduced a new medium into LeWitt's oeuvre: laser-cut vinyl affixed directly to giant aluminum panels. This innovative process allows Bands of Color to exist as an outdoor installation for much longer than conventional techniques such as painting on enamel would have allowed.

With Bands of Color and Vertical #5 the Birmingham Museum of Art joins rank with the most prestigious museums in the world that have obtained LeWitt's work for their permanent collections. Among them are the Museum of Modern Art, New York; the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York; the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; the Art Institute of Chicago; the National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.; Musée National d'Art Moderne, Paris; the Tokyo Metropolitan Museum; and the Tate Modern, London.

The acquisition of Bands of Color in Various Directions was made possible through the generosity of the Bluff Park Art Association and the Art Fund Inc., of the BMA. Vertical #5 was acquired with funds provided by the Art Fund Inc., Preston H. Haskell, RockSolid Industries and the Shades Gallery of Contemporary Art.