Keith Sonnier
«Lightsome»
VfmK Verlag für moderne Kunst GmbH, 2022

Hg. Simone Schimpf, Director | Neues Museum Nürnberg 
VfmK Verlag für moderne Kunst GmbH, Vienna
with text from Lesley Raeside, Simone Schimpf,
Kristin Schrader und Olympia Sonnier
175 pages (german/english)
ISBN 978-3-903439-91-7

This publication is published on the occasion of the exhibition Keith Sonnier «Lightsome» at Neues Museum Nürnberg (DE) in 2022.

Keith Sonnier - this name is primarily associated with the light works of the artist, who was born in Louisiana in 1941, in the Deep South of the USA. Since the 1960s, Sonnier has continuously developed works with various light sources, which has decisively shaped the reception of his art to this day.


Equally essential, however, is the unbroken and open-minded interest in a wide variety of materials and media. Sonnier has also been engaged in diverse cultures throughout his life, has traveled and created works of art using local handicrafts.

The exhibition, comprising around forty works from five decades, and the accompanying publication honor the work of the artist - who died in July 2020 - in its diversity and the individual attitude that emerges in it. The English «Lightsome», which can mean «bright» as well as «carefree, cheerful», refers not only to Sonnier's art, but also to his person.

(from the short description of the VfmK Verlag für moderne Kunst GmbH, Vienna)