Artist Research

Robert Morris

American born Robert Morris was born in 1931, and is a key figure to Minimalism. Through both his sculptures of the 1960's and theoretical writings , Morris set forth a vision of art paired down to simple shapes stripped of metaphorical associations, and focused on the artworks interaction with the viewer. 

In the 1960's, he created some of the key examplars of Minimalist sculpture: Enormous, repeated geometric forms, such as cubes and rectangles beams devoid of figuration, surface texture, or expressive content.

His work forced viewers to consider the arrangement and scale of the forms themselves, and how perception shifted as one moved around them, which was a central preoccupation of Minimalism.

Untitled
1965 - 1971

'Bodyspacemotionthings'
1971

'Bodyspacemotionthings'
2009

His piece 'Bosyspacemotionthings' was an installation that invited people to climb on it, but due to the enthusiastic response, it was deemed unsafe and closed four days after opening. It was later remade with stronger materials in the Tate.