James Turrell (Los Angeles, 6 maggio 1943) è un artista statunitense, i cui lavori vertono principalmente sulla percezione della luce e dello spazio.
Turrell crebbe a Pasadena, assieme a suo padre Archibald Milton Turrell ingegnere aeronautico che gli fornì i primi rudimenti sulla meccanica dei motori e del volo aereo, e a sua madre Margaret Hodges (medico). Nel 1961 ottenne il diploma presso la Pasadena High School, mentre fu del 1965 il Bachelor of Arts in “Psichology and Mathematics” presso il Pomona College di Claremont. Fu in questo college che Turrell conobbe alcuni fra i docenti che esercitarono su di lui una grande influenza, fra cui Graham Bell, il professore di psicologia Paul Vitz e quello di astronomia Robert Chambers.
Al termine del college si iscrisse all’ University of California ad Irvine, dove studiò per circa due semestri facendo la conoscenza con alcuni degli artisti della scena minimalista californiana fra cui Tony DeLap, John McCraken e David Gray. Nel 1966 affittò un albergo dimesso (Mendota) per realizzare al suo interno uno studio e un luogo dove poter esporre le sue opere. Qui furono esposte le prime Cross Corner projections: lastre metalliche forate delle dimensioni di una diapositiva, che vengono proiettate con precise angolazioni su dei muri adiacenti dando all’osservatore l’impressione della presenza di un solido luminoso. Fra queste proiezioni la più nota fu la Afrum (poi ribattezzata Afrum-proto). Nel 1967 fu allestita la sua prima mostra personale presso il Pasadena Art Museum.
I suoi esperimenti con la luce proseguirono negli anni successivi, e Turrell si dedicò in particolar modo alle modalità della percezione umana in ambienti controllati, o in condizioni di alterazione percettiva, assieme al collega Robert Irwin e allo psicologo della percezione Edward Wortz.
Nel 1974, grazie al finanziamento dell conte Panza di Biumo realizzò i primi disegni per quella che sarebbe rimasta la sua opera più celebre: il Roden Crater project. Turrell voleva trasformare il Roden Crater, cono vulcanico ormai spento situato a Flagstaff in Arizona, in un quello che lui stesso definì un “monumento alla percezione”. Il basso grado di umidità e il clima favorevole del luogo fornivano le condizioni ideali per le sperimentazioni dedicate alla luce. La costruzione di questa gigantesca opera d’arte è ancora in corso ed è attualmente entrata nella fase 3. Turell vive metà dell’anno a New York e l’altra metà a Flagstaff proprio per seguire la realizzazione dei lavori.
(Tratto da: http://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Turrell )
James Turrell: The Substance of Light - Museum Frieder Burda, Baden-Baden
James Turrell - Kayne Griffin Corcoran, Los Angeles, CA
James Turrell »The Elliptical Glass« - Häusler Contemporary, Zürich
James Turrell: Into the Light - Mass Moca, North Adams, MA
James Turrell - From the Guggenheim, Aten Reign - Häusler Contemporary - Zurich, Zurich
James Turrell - 67 68 69 - Pace Gallery, New York City, NY
James Turrell - Pace Gallery - Palo Alto, Palo Alto, CA
Setouchi Triennale 2016 - Setouchi Triennale, Takamatsu
La Promenade, une balade dans le dépôt long du Cnap - Musée Régional D'Art Contemporain Languedoc-Roussillon, Sérignan
Kayne Griffin Corcoran, Los Angeles, California “James Turrell” November 8, 2015 to January 16, 2016
Houghton Hall Norfolk UK, LightScape: James Turrell at Houghton, June 7, 2015 to October 24, 2015
Häusler Contemporary Zürich, James Turrell, “From the Guggenheim, Aten Reign”, May 13, 2015 to August 15, 2015
Israel Museum, Jerusalem, Israel “James Turrell: A Retrospective,” June 1, 2014 to January 3, 2015
National Gallery of Australia, Canberra, "James Turrell: A Retrospective," December 2014 to April 2015
The Pace Gallery, New York, New York, “James Turrell,” March 15 to April 20, 2013
Academy Art Museum, Easton, Maryland, "James Turrell Perspectives,” April 20 to July 7, 2013
Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Los Angeles, California, “James Turrell: A Retrospective,” May 23, 2013 to April 6, 2014
Kayne Griffin Corcoran Gallery, Santa Monica, California, “James Turrell,” May 23 to July 20, 2013
Galerie Almine Rech, Paris, France, "James Turrell," June 1 to July 27, 2013
Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Texas, “James Turrell: The Light Inside,” June 9 to September 22, 2013
The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York, New York, “James Turrell,” June 21 to September 25, 2013
ReMap 4, Athens, Greece, “James Turrell: Knowing Light,” September 19 to September 30, 2013
Spencer Museum of Art, The University of Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas, “ James Turrell: Gard Blue,” September 14, 2013 to May 18, 2014
Hausler Contemporary Munich, "James Turrell Projections," November 8, 2013 to February 28, 2014
Twilight Epiphany, Skyspace, Rice University Houston, USA
Dissecting Nature, Quint Contemporary Art, La Jolla, CA
It Happened at Pomona: Art at the Edge of Los Angeles 1969-1973 (Part 3), Pomona College Museum of Art, Claremont, CA
Prints, Devin Borden Hiram Butler Gallery, Houston, TX
See! Color!, der Vidar Foundation, Järna, Sweden (solo exhibition)
September 11, MoMA PS1, New York, NY, USA
Highlights of the Peter Blum Edition Archive, Museum of Fine Arts Houston, Houston, TX, USA
Venice in Venice, Nyehaus, New York, NY, USA
APANI, Arsenale, Venice Biennale, Italy
Present Tense, Kayne Griffin Corcoran, Santa Monica, CA (solo exhibition)
James Turrell, Gagosian Gallery, London, England (solo exhibition)
ColorForms, Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Washington, DC
Dynamic Light Installation, Dornier Museum Friedrichshafen, Germany
The Wolfsburg Project, Kunstmuseum Wolfsburg, Germany
James Turrell - Geometrie des Lichts, Zentrum für Lichtkunst Unna, Germany
Time & Place: Los Angeles, 1958-1968, Kunsthaus Zürich, Switzerland
James Turrell, Baldwin Gallery, Aspen, CO, USA
Time & Place: Los Angeles, 1958-1968, Moderna Museet, Stockholm, Sweden
James Turrell, Pomona College, Pomona College Museum of Art, Claremont, CA, USA
James Turrell - A Life in Light, Louise T Blouin Foundation, London (England)
James Turrell, Underground Gallery, Yorkshire Sculpture Park, Wakefield, West Yorkshire (England)
Art 35 Basel, sant H10, June 16-21. (solo exhibition)
Brainstorming, topographie de la morale, Centre national d’art et du paysage,Vassivière en Limousin, France (20.03 - 27.06.2004). (solo exhibition)
Singular Forms (Sometimes Repeated): Art from 1951 to the Present, Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, NYC, USA (05.03 - 16.05). (solo exhibition)
Pace Wildenstein Gallery, New York, USA (03.12.2003 - 10.01.2004). (solo exhibition)
Kunsthaus Zug, Zug, Suisse (30.11.2003 - 29.02.2004). (solo exhibition)
Galerie Cheryl Haines, San Francisco, USA, 4 septembre - 18 octobre. (solo exhibition)
Paik Hae Young Gallery & Galerie PKM, Seoul, Corée du Sud, du 30/10 au 31/11. (solo exhibition)
Inauguration du siège de la caisse des dépôts et Consignations dans le cadre de Nuit Blanche, Quai d'Austerlitz, Paris, France (4/5 octobre). (solo exhibition)
James Turrell : into the light, Mattress Factory, Pittsburgh, USA (2 juin 2002 - 30 avril 2003)
Sonoma County Museum, Californie, USA. (solo exhibition)
Nasher Sculpture Park, Dallas, Texas, USA, octobre – novembre
Mind Space, Galerie HoAm/ Sam Sung Museum, Seoul, South Korea, 28/02-18/05
Galerie Henry Art, Seattle, Washington, USA
Moon and Architecture, INAX Gallery 1, Tokyo, Japan, December 7, 2001 to February 23, 2002
The Magic of Light, Hudson River Museum, Yonkers, New York, February 1 to May 19, 2002
Moon and Architecture, INAX Gallery Osaka, Osaka, Japan, , March 7 to May 24
Galerie Almine Rech, Paris, 9 mars - 13 juillet. (solo exhibition)
National Gallery of Art, Washington D.C, USA. (solo exhibition)
Michael Hue-Williams Fine Art, London, England. (solo exhibition)
The Autonomous Spaces,Galerie Ace, Los Angeles, USA. (solo exhibition)
Changing Perceptions: The Panza Collection at the Guggenheim Museum, Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, Spain, November 16, 2000 to April 22, 2001
Collaborations with Parkett: 1984 to Now, Museum of Modern Art, New York, New York, April 3, to June 5, 2001. (Catalogue)
Infinite Light, Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art, Scottsdale, Arizona, February 11 to June 3, 2001. (Installations, Models, Drawings, Permanent Installation
Inventional, Angles Gallery, Santa Monica, California, August 11, 2000 to September 16, 2000
Echigo-Tsumari Art Triennial, Echigo-Tsumari Region, July 20, 2000 to September 10, 2000
The American Century: Art and Culture 1900-2000, Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, New York, September to February 2000
Lux et Tenebrae, Peter Blum Edition, Blumarts Inc. New York, New York, June 17, 2000 to September 9, 2000. (Prints)
Arte Californiana della Collezione Panza al Museo Guggenheim, The Peggy Guggenheim Collection, Venezia, Italy, September 1 to December, 2000. (Installation)
Regarding Beauty, Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Smithsonian Institute, Washington D.C., October 7 to January 17, 2000. (Installation, Catalogue)
The American Century: Art and Culture 1900-2000, Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, New York, September to February 2000. (Photographs, Catalogue)
Sunshine & Noir, Art in Los Angeles 1960-1997, Armand Hammer Museum, Los Angeles, California, September 16 to January 3, 1999. (Installation, Catalogue)
Sunshine & Noir, Art in Los Angeles 1960-1997, Kunstmuseum Wolfsburg, Germany, November 15, 1997 to February 1, 1998 (Installation, Catalogue)
Barbara Gladstone Gallery, New York, New York, January 18 to March 2, 1997 (Installation)
Galerie Michele Chomette, Paris, France, January 18 to March 16, 1996
After Art: Rethinking 150 Years of Photography, Henry Art Gallery, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington(Catalogue)
Portside Gallery, Yokohama, Japan, March 17 to May 17, 1995
Contemplation, 95 Joong-Ang Special Exhibition, Ho-Am Art Galerie, Seoul, Korea, September 25 to October 20, 1995. (Installation)
Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles, California, February 10 to April 30, 1995. (Installation)
Foundation Cartier; a Collection, Taipei Fine Arts Museum, Taiwan, January 25 to March 12, 1995. (Installation)
Painting and Sculpture: Recent Acquisitions, Museum of Modern Art, New York, New York, June 16 to September 11, 1994. (Installation)
Roden Crater: Realizing a Vision, Lisa Sette Gallery, Phoenix, Arizona, March 10 to April 9, 1994. (Drawings, Prints, Hologram)
Gemini Editions Limited Collection, Recent Prints and Sculpture, National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., June to October 2, 1994. (Catalogue)
Differentes Natures, La Defense, Paris, France, June 25 to November 1, 1993. (Drawings, Photos, Models)
Universidad Internacional Menedez y Pelayo, Santander, Spain, July 31 to September 8, 1991, catalogue. (Installation)
Museum fur Moderne Kunst, Frankfurt, Germany, June 7, 1991. (Permanent Installation)
Le Musee d’Art Contemporain de Montreal, Montreal, Quebec, Canada, April 29 to July 22, 1990. (Installation)
Ace Contemporary Exhibitions, Los Angeles, California, “The Innovators / Entering the Sculpture,” October 14 to November 25, 1989. (Installation)