Creator Record
Metadata
Name |
Sonnier, Keith |
Notes |
Keith Sonnier was born in 1941 in Mamou, LA. He received his BA from the University of Southwestern Louisiana (now the University of Louisiana at Lafayette) in 1963, and his MFA from Rutgers University in 1966. While at Rutgers he became influenced by Robert Morris, one of the most prominent proponents of Minimalism. Sonnier, along with contemporaries such as Eva Hesse, Bruce Nauman, Richard Serra, Richard Tuttle, and Jackie WinsorIn, were interested in exploring new ideas about how sculpture was made and presented, and what materials could be incorporated. In 1968 Sonnier began working with neon encased in glass tubes, beginning to create the work for which he is best known. These light sculptures not only ushered in new forms to the art vernacular, but also created work that actively activated and changed the space it was displayed in. He has continuously pushed the boundaries of what sculpture could be, and worked with materials as varied as latex, bamboo, satin, and found objects. He also has worked as a performance and video artist. Sonnier currently lives and works between New York, NY and Bridgehampton, NY. He has been the subject of over 150 one-man exhibitions worldwide. Today, his works are held in the collections of the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., The Museum of Modern Art in New York, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, and the National Gallery of Australia in Canberra, among others. |
Nationality |
American |
