21 Facts About James Turrell

James Turrell was born on May 6,1943 and is an American artist known for his work within the Light and Space movement.

James Turrell's father, Archibald Milton Turrell, was an aeronautical engineer and educator.

James Turrell obtained a pilot's license when he was 16 years old.

James Turrell received a BA degree from Pomona College in perceptual psychology in 1965 and studied mathematics, geology, and astronomy.

In 1966, James Turrell began experimenting with light in his Santa Monica studio, the Mendota Hotel, at a time when the so-called Light and Space group of artists in Los Angeles, including Robert Irwin, Mary Corse and Doug Wheeler, was coming into prominence.

In 1979 James Turrell acquired an extinct cinder cone volcano located outside Flagstaff, Arizona.

In 2013, James Turrell created another Quaker skyspace, Greet the Light, at the newly rebuilt Chestnut Hill Friends Meeting in Philadelphia.

James Turrell's Dividing the Light incorporates both water and landscaping.

In 2009 the first museum worldwide dedicated to James Turrell's work was opened in the province of Salta, Argentina.

The experience concludes with a remarkable example of James Turrell's exhibited sky spaces, created within the inner courtyard of the museum, which reaches maximum intensity in the views of the Andean sky at dawn and sunset.

James Turrell is known for his light tunnels and light projections that create shapes that seem to have mass and weight, though they are created with only light.

Three such works by James Turrell are permanent installations at the Mattress Factory in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

James Turrell's work Acton is a very popular exhibit at the Indianapolis Museum of Art.

James Turrell's works defy the "accelerated" habits of many people, especially when looking at art.

James Turrell feels that viewers spend so little time with the art that this makes it hard to appreciate.

Art critic John McDonald writes that James Turrell's works are "dull to describe but magical to experience".

James Turrell was given his first solo show at the Pasadena Art Museum in 1967.

Into the Light, an installation of nine James Turrell works, is on view at MASS MoCA from 2017 until at least 2025.

James Turrell's work has been exhibited at public art spaces as well as commercial galleries around the world.

James Turrell is represented by Hausler Contemporary, Kayne Griffin Corcoran, Pace Gallery, Hiram Butler Gallery, Almine Rech Gallery, and Gagosian Gallery.

In Japan, James Turrell's works are in the collections of several museums, including the 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art, Kanazawa and at the Chichu Art Museum at Benesse Art-Site in Naoshima, Kagawa.