Examining Dan Flavin’s Grids of Color and Light

They range in scale from monumental to more intimate works, but all exhibit the bright and dramatic light that is their very constructed nature. The color is twofold: that which is emitted from the front-facing bulbs, and the background light, which is reflected onto the corner wall from rear-facing bulbs.

Of his work, Flavin has said, “The grid has a rich contrast, front over rear, and an optical interplay…all modified by reflected color mixes and shadows of the grid structure itself. As an ensemble, this intense fluorescent light-use abuse seems to me to be rare in my production.” 

The grid was the visual vehicle for the generation that launched Minimal art; it is the simple structure to counter the discordant brushwork and expressionism of an older generation of artists. The grid is about balance, harmony, and a level of equality. The grid is universal and understood by all. And, as defined by the dictionary, a grid is a network of lines that cross each other to form a series of squares or rectangles. It’s the perfect description of a work of Minimal art.

Like a Rubik’s Cube, there are seemingly endless possibilities here in terms of color combinations and dimensions of the grid. But, beyond the physical nature of the work, there is the effect of the lighting, as Flavin said, “The lights can be glorious, the effects ecstatic.” Flavin often used both terms almost in the sense of religious transport. It is this dichotomy between the physical character of the work lighting from a hardware store and the moving and mysterious quality of lighting that captures viewers' attention.