Robert Irwin - Pace

Robert Irwin, Piccadilly, 2013

Robert Irwin is at Pace London until 17 August 2013.
I have long been aware of Robert Irwin (now 85) but cannot actually recall ever seeing any of his work - even though his evolution from an abstract painter into a leader of the Californian 'Light and Space' movement meant that he was working with a minimalist aesthetic that is exactly to my taste. I was, therefore, unprepared for the impact of the two 'site-conditioned' installations presented by Pace at their Burlington Gardens space. The first, Who's Afraid of Red, Yellow and Blue III, occupies the huge ground floor gallery and features three aluminium black and coloured panels suspended from the ceiling that mirror three identical panels hovering over the floor - the effect of the light flooding in from the windows onto the reflective surfaces is a beautiful doubling and re-doubling of the space.
In the upstairs gallery Piccadilly comprises forty-seven green and white fluorescent tubes mounted in vertical groupings.
Gorgeous stuff. 

Robert Irwin, Who's Afraid of Red, Yellow and Blue III, 2013

Robert Irwin, Who's Afraid of Red, Yellow and Blue III, 2013

Robert Irwin, Who's Afraid of Red, Yellow and Blue III, 2013

Robert Irwin, Piccadilly, 2013 (detail)