Per Kirkeby – Matter is light

“Château La Coste and Michael Werner Gallery are pleased to present Matter is Light, an exhibition of paintings and sculptures by Danish artist Per Kirkeby. Matter is Light also inaugurates a new permanent outdoor sculpture, Brick Labyrinth, that will be installed on the grounds of Château La Coste. Conceived in 2009, Brick Labyrinth is the artist’s last completed sculpture: Kirkeby died in May this year, shortly before seeing its installation at La Coste completed. Matter is Light aims to celebrate the life and legacy of this major figure in European art.

The foundational importance of the natural sciences to Kirkeby’s art is well established: the artist traveled extensively in the Arctic and Greenland in the early 1960s while working towards his master’s degree in geology. Equally important to his development as a painter and sculptor are the many experiments with architecture and performance Kirkeby carried out during his student days and into the 1970s.”