The Sol LeWitt Wall Drawings Catalogue Raisonné is the definitive publication of LeWitt’s most celebrated body of work. The catalogue features comprehensive information for LeWitt’s approximately 1,350 wall drawings, comprising approximately 3,500 installations at more than 1,200 venues. [2]
The Sol LeWitt Wall Drawings Catalogue Raisonné developed out of a project begun by the artist before his death in 2007. During his lifetime, LeWitt produced three earlier catalogues raisonnés, all edited by Susanna Singer (1984; 1989; and 1992), but he intended to replace these with an updated catalogue raisonné, which he began to outline at the end of his life. After more than a decade of continued research in close collaboration with the Estate of Sol LeWitt, Artifex Press has completed work on this catalogue and has published it in digital form. The catalogue encompasses all details of the previous catalogues raisonnés with critical updates ranging from newly discovered wall drawings to corrected titles, caption information, and installation histories. As this is a digital catalogue, it will continue to be updated with new installations, new photography, and any additional information that is discovered after the initial publication date.
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“Different kinds of walls make for different kinds of drawings.”
-Sol LeWitt, “Wall Drawings,” Arts Magazine (April 1970)
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Nearly every first installation of each wall drawing is illustrated with an archival photograph and additional images illustrate subsequent installations—approximately 6,000 images in total. Also included are images of the wall drawing diagrams—schematics that indicate how a work is to be installed—and dozens of multimedia features, including rarely-seen installation videos and an audio file of LeWitt delivering installation instructions for the exhibition Art By Telephone at the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago in 1969. Detailed notes highlight the evolution of many wall drawings and call out important distinctions from one installation to the next. There are explanatory texts introducing each of LeWitt’s series, from the Drawing Series through Broken Bands of Color. Several essays by LeWitt are reproduced, some featuring reproductions of original manuscripts in the artist’s hand.
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About the Research Team Lindsay Aveilhé is Editor of the Sol LeWitt Wall Drawings Catalogue Raisonné. She has been researching Sol LeWitt’s wall drawings and collaborating with the Estate of Sol LeWitt since 2012. During that time, Aveilhé curated Sol LeWitt and Lucy McKenzie at the Artist’s Institute, New York, and Another Place at 205 Hudson Street Gallery, Hunter College, New York. Recently, in her capacity as Editor, she has presented on various topics related to research on the catalogue raisonné at ARLIS, NY (2018), Association of Art Historians Annual Conference, UK (2018), and Pratt Institute, NY (2017). Forthcoming panels and presentations will take place at Appraisers Association of America, New York (2018), FLAT Art Book Fair, Turin (2018), and HEAD - Genève (2019). In late 2018, she will be taking part in a residency and symposium at the Mahler & LeWitt Studios, Spoleto, Italy, on the topic of the artist’s book. Christopher Vacchio is the Director of Research of the Sol LeWitt Wall Drawings Catalogue Raisonné. He recently served as Research Fellow at the Aspen Art Museum and contributed to the catalogue for the museum’s exhibition Alan Shields: Protracted Simplicity (1966-1985). He has also held positions at the Hood Museum of Art at Dartmouth College, Judd Foundation, and as Curatorial Fellow at the New York-based nonprofit Art in General. He received a B.A. in Art History and Studio Art from Dartmouth College, and is an M.A. candidate at the City University of New York’s City College. Christine Shang-Oak Lee is Research Associate of the Sol LeWitt Wall Drawings Catalogue Raisonné, and Director of Research of the Lee Ufan Catalogue Raisonné (forthcoming from Artifex Press).
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Photography Captions All artworks © 2018 Estate of Sol LeWitt/Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York. Cover: Wall Drawing #565 at San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, 2000. Photo by Ian Reeves, courtesy San Francisco Museum of Modern Art
p. 6: Top: Wall Drawing #575 at Le Case d’Arte, Milan, 1988 (in progress). Photo by Margareta Riccoboni, courtesy Le Case d’Arte; Bottom: Wall Drawing #575 at Le Case d’Arte, Milan, 1988. Photo by Salvatore Licitra, courtesy Le Case d’Arte
p. 7: Left: Wall Drawing #936; Right: Wall Drawing #935 at San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, 2000. Photo by Ben Blackwell, courtesy San Francisco Museum p. 3: Wall Drawing #766 at Renn Espace d’art contemporain, Paris, 1994 (in progress). Photo by Florian of Modern Art Kleinefenn, Paris p. 8: Wall Drawing #1183 at Bonnefantenmuseum, Maastricht, Netherlands, 2011. Photo by Peter Cox, p. 4: Clockwise: Wall Drawing #51 at Massachusetts courtesy Bonnefantenmuseum, Maastricht Museum of Contemporary Art, North Adams, 2008. Photo by Kevin Kennefick, courtesy MASS MoCA; p. 9: Wall Drawing #69 at Dia:Beacon, New York, Diagram for Wall Drawing #51; Wall Drawing #51 2016 (detail). Photo by Bill Jacobson, courtesy Dia Art at Fondazione Carriero, Milan, 2017 (detail). Photo by Foundation Agostina Osio, courtesy Fondazione Carriero Back cover: Sol LeWitt installing Wall Drawing #136 at p. 5: Wall Drawing #51 at San Fransisco Museum of Chiostro di San Nicolò, Spoleto, Italy, 1972. Photo by Modern Art, 2000. Photo by Ian Reeves, courtesy San Giorgio Lucarini, courtesy Estate of Sol LeWitt Francisco Museum of Modern Art p. 2: Grid screen view from Sol LeWitt Wall Drawings
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