{"id":617605,"date":"2026-05-04T15:21:37","date_gmt":"2026-05-04T13:21:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/numero.com\/non-classifiee\/the-exclusive-interview-with-james-turrell-star-of-contemporary-art-exhibited-in-paris\/"},"modified":"2026-05-04T15:23:05","modified_gmt":"2026-05-04T13:23:05","slug":"the-exclusive-interview-with-james-turrell-star-of-contemporary-art-exhibited-in-paris","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/numero.com\/en\/art-design\/art-en\/the-exclusive-interview-with-james-turrell-star-of-contemporary-art-exhibited-in-paris\/","title":{"rendered":"Exclusive interview with James Turrell, star of the contemporary art scene"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"Portrait\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/svg>\n\t\t<\/button>
Portrait of James Turrell. \u00a9 Florian Holzherr. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Interview with artist James Turrell, exhibited at the Gagosian gallery in Le Bourget<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

In September 2022, artist Michael Heizer<\/strong> inaugurated his\u00a0City<\/strong>\u00a0<\/em>in the heart of the Nevada desert. It took him over fifty-two years to create this gigantic \u2018city\u2019, made up of several colossal concrete sculptures. Long before him, Auguste Rodin<\/strong> worked on his famous\u00a0Gates of Hell\u00a0<\/strong><\/em>for over forty years. As for Europe\u2019s largest public sculpture, made by Bernar Venet<\/strong>, its inauguration only dates back to 2019, even though the project began in the mid-1980s.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Despite the frantic pace of the art world and its constant demand for productivity, these examples are a reminder that artists have never ceased to put their heart and soul into long-term projects, without knowing for certain whether their artworks will eventually be complete one day. These laborious quests can nonetheless give birth to true masterpieces, reminding us just how necessary risk-taking is to creation and history.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It has been forty years since James Turrell<\/strong> has been dedicating himself to the work of his life: a sky observatory nestled in a 300,000-year-old extinct volcano in northeastern Arizona. Property of the American artist since 1977, the Roden Crater <\/strong>and its surrounding site have been transformed as part of his ambitious project throughout the years. Luminous tunnels, galleries open to the sky and bathed in light…<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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James Turrell,
Aten Reign<\/em> (2016). \u00a9 ART James Turrell. Photo: Peter Baracch. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The Crater Roden crater, the mythical and mysterious work of a life<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

All in all, some twenty underground spaces are gradually weaving the architecture of this exceptional estate inspired by both the Mayan pyramids<\/strong> of Central America and the history of the Hopi<\/strong>, the Native American people who primarily lived in that region. While the site still remains closed to the public for now, it has already proven to be the apex of the work of the artist born in 1943. There, nature, architecture and light come together with the promise of creating a unique sensory experience, close to the total work of art so idealised by the Romantics<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou know that one friend who\u2019s been working on his thesis for ages, telling you that he\u2019s about to finish it but in fact never does? For me, the Roden Crater is a bit like that,”<\/em> the artist says amused. He then adds that the pandemic, inflation and rising production costs have considerably lengthened his deadlines. From his studio in Flagstaff, the closest town to the site, the now eighty-one-year-old American artist stands in front of a huge photograph of the volcano, as if a window had been opened to reveal this panoramic view, where a rainbow surprisingly seems to form a halo of light around it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That incidental image is but an eloquent one to say the least. James Turrell<\/strong> is now considered as one of the \u2018legends\u2019 of contemporary art, not only thanks to this long-term project, but above all thanks to the creation of a radical and innovative body of work based on the immaterial, which has been spread all over the world for the past six decades. Also known as the \u2018master of light\u2019, the artist is presenting a new major solo exhibition this autumn at the Gagosian Gallery<\/strong> in Paris, which has entrusted him with the keys to its space at Le Bourget, just a stone\u2019s throw from the airport. A rather fitting venue for an artist who is highly regarded in France, but whose public appearances are becoming increasingly rare.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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View of Roden Crater in Arizona, the site where James Turrell has been working since 1977 on his most monumental work to date. \u00a9 James Turrell. Photo: Florian Holzherr. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Light, James Turrell’s favourite and exploration material<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Born in Los Angeles, the American artist first came to public attention in the mid-1960s. One of his first works,\u00a0Afrum Proto I\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>(1966), consisted of the simple projection of a white light onto the angle formed by two partitions. The hexagonal shape drawn by the dazzling light gave the illusion of a cube emerging in relief from the wall. The foundations of Turrell\u2019s work were laid. According to him, an artwork comes to life through a skillful interplay between space, light and colour, which challenges the viewer\u2019s perception thanks to the detailed study of physical phenomena. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

These principles quickly became the hallmarks of the new Light and Space art movement<\/strong>. Its emerging leading figures are James Turrell<\/strong>, Larry Bell<\/strong> and Robert Irwin<\/strong>. \u201cMy art has no object, no image and no focus,”<\/em> he summed up a few years ago. His\u00a0Ganzfeld<\/strong><\/em>, a series of works he started in 1974 based on the eponymous effect occurring when exposure to a uniform, featureless field triggers a state of sensory deprivation, are a testament to that. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Conceived on a human scale, Turrell<\/strong>\u2019s installations immerse the viewer in a monochrome bath of red, pink, blue or green. There, the saturated and unified colours are so intense that they engulf the viewer to the point of causing accidents. In 1980, a visitor broke her wrist as she leaned on what she thought was a wall and fell into one of Turrell<\/strong>\u2019s installations. She claimed $250,000 from the Whitney Museum<\/strong>, which then claimed it back from Turrell, leading to years of litigation. In 2011, another woman destroyed an artwork after violently walking through a wall, thinking she was \u201cjumping into a cloud<\/em>\u201d at the Venice Art Biennale<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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James Turrell,
Aftershock<\/em> (2022), Ganzfeld series (1976-ongoing). \u00a9 ART James Turrell. Photo: Florian Holzher. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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“We’ve lost the habit of getting into paintings, and I want my pieces to revive that experience<\/em>.”<\/h2>\nJames Turrell<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Since he graduated in psychology of perception before completing his education at an art school, the Californian artist pays close attention to the audience\u2019s behaviour when facing his works. \u201cI\u2019ve always been interested in seeing how everyone enters these new landscapes with no horizon. Spaces with neither top <\/em>nor bottom, neither left or right<\/em>\u201d. This loss of reference points is sometimes followed by an uncomfortable sensation of dizziness and vertigo, affecting those who might appear tough at first sight. \u201cAt one of my exhibitions in Russia, Vladimir Putin stayed in my installation for barely twenty seconds before pressing the button to get out!<\/em>\u201d Today, Turrell causes this effect at regular intervals to avoid completely disorienting the viewer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Visitors to the Gagosian Gallery<\/strong> will be greeted by one of the artist\u2019s last\u00a0Ganzfeld<\/strong><\/em>. In this round pavilion, with its blank, curved walls, an LED screen and coloured back lighting do all the work. Despite its structure, the artist considers this work to be much more pictorial than sculptural. It recreates the impression of a purely two-dimensional flatness in a three-dimensional space. \u201cWe\u2019ve lost the habit of entering canvases<\/em>. I want my pieces to recreate that experience<\/em>,\u201d the artist explains as the aura of the artwork is essential to him. An aura that he can find in the paintings of Vermeer<\/strong>, Goya<\/strong>, Turner<\/strong> and the Impressionists<\/strong>, precisely because of their skillful mastery of light.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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James Turrell,
Guardian<\/em> (2017), Wedgework<\/em> series (1969-ongoing). \u00a9 ART James Turrell. Photo: Florian Holzher. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

A universe nourished by his passion for the celestial world and aviation<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Despite the obvious spiritual dimension of his works very often experienced by the public, James Turrell <\/strong>has always spoken of light as a concrete, palpable entity. \u201cI want to feel it, to sense its presence in space and the way it inhabits it<\/em>,\u201d he states. \u201cWe must not forget that we eat light; it\u2019s food. Our balance is disturbed without it. We need it for melatonin, serotonin, vitamin D…\u201d<\/em> While as a child the artist hoped to touch the light of dreams and bring it into the daylight, he now seems to use his work to build bridges between the realms of consciousness and the subconscious. The artist enriches our experience of the world in doing so. \u201cWe dream with many more colours than when our eyes are open. It\u2019s no coincidence that those who have near-death experiences put a strong emphasis on light<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

These works are emblems of the Californian artist\u2019s career and would probably not have seen the light of day without his all-consuming passion for aviation. As the son of an aeronautical engineer, the young man\u2019s eyes were riveted to the sky as he dreamt of flying from an early age. At the age of sixteen, he obtained his pilot\u2019s license and began flying. His most overwhelming sensory experiences all happened off the ground: \u201cI remember once flying in the middle of tule fog, a thick ground fog specific to California. There was a stratus cloud above, and the sun was about to rise, which turned the sky red, then orange, and eventually yellow. Crossing this completely abstract landscape was gripping<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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James Turrell,
Dhatu <\/em>(2010), from the Ganzfeld<\/em> series (1976\u2013ongoing). \u00a9 James Turrell. Photo: Florian Holzherr. Courtesy the artist and Gagosian. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

James Turrell, an artist adored by critics and the public<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

In 1969, that exceptional epic adventure inspired him to create the\u00a0Wedgeworks<\/strong>\u00a0<\/em>series, a recent example of which can also be seen at the Gagosian Gallery<\/a><\/strong>. By projecting fluorescent coloured lights onto reflective surfaces in a room, Turrell<\/strong> creates an impression of depth that extends beyond the walls. \u201cWe pilots are often described as people and spouses who are difficult to live with since flying leads us to perceive things differently from others<\/em>,\u201d the artist comments. The latter is precisely working on giving the audience a glimpse of his highly singular paradigm. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

His passion for the celestial world has also inspired his most popular works to date,\u00a0Skyspaces<\/strong><\/em>, which resemble outdoor capsules that can welcome a handful or dozens of people. Thanks to an opening to the sky on the roof and the combination of natural and artificial lights inside, the luckiest visitors can indulge in moments of intense contemplation. While the first of its kind, built in 1974, is now part of the collection at Villa Panza in Varese, the\u00a0Skyspaces<\/strong>\u00a0<\/em>have since sprung up all over the world, from Australia to Argentina and Norway. Today, eighty-five of them exist. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Among the most impressive ones, the one located in Mexico City stands out for its oval shape, which looks like a moss-covered UFO, as well as the one installed at the University of Houston, whose pyramid-shaped structure topped by a large square roof offers ideal acoustics for live performances by the musicians on campus, in addition to the light experience. Nestled beneath the surface of the volcano and its cinder cone, Roden Crater <\/strong>contains several\u00a0Skyspaces<\/strong><\/em>. In 2019, Kanye West<\/a><\/strong> unveiled some of them in his film\u00a0Jesus is King<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0<\/em>(2019) shot on the natural site. The rapper, who sees James Turrell as one of his greatest inspirations, has also invested ten million dollars to help the artist complete his work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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