In Häusler Contemporary's new Viewing Room, we present James Turrell's «Roden Crater Site Plan along the Summer Solstice Axis» (2024), which traces the fundamental themes of his entire oeuvre: the perception of space, light and time.

As one of the most important contemporary artists, Turrell dedicates his entire oeuvre to the diverse manifestations of natural and artificial light. In doing so, he penetrates the limits of human perception: Installations and environments make it possible to experience light as an artistic medium. Particularly in his monumental project in Roden Crater in Arizona, which has been in development since the 1970s, Turrell develops a synthesis of art, architecture and astronomy that leads the viewer into a deep dialog with nature and the cosmos. The «Roden Crater Project» is not only his most ambitious work, but also a complex system of spatial configurations and light stagings that work towards precise alignment with astronomical events, in particular the summer solstice.

«Roden Crater Site Plan along the Summer Solstice Axis» captures the essence of this visionary project and concretizes the axis of the summer solstice, which for Turrell plays a fundamental role in understanding cosmic rhythms. Exquisite materials such as gold leaf, glass and the elegant steel base reflect his deep understanding of light, space and time to depict the layout of Roden Crater along the axis of the summer solstice using precise artistic techniques. Limited to an edition of 30, each piece is signed and numbered by the artist. We are delighted to show this extraordinary work exclusively in our gallery in Zurich and thus present a further contribution to Turrell's oeuvre, which makes the interplay of light, space and perception tangible in its purest form.

In addition to his light-space installations, which are presented in renowned museums around the world, James Turrell has been working on his opus magnum, the Roden Crater project, since the 1970s. The dormant volcano is located in north-eastern Arizona, around 40 kilometers north-west of Flagstaff and close to the Grand Canyon. The crater is part of the Colorado Plateau and was formed around 1.5 million years ago by volcanic activity. With a diameter of around 1.5 kilometers and a depth of around 150 meters, the crater offers impressive geological and geographical features, which the artist and pilot found almost by chance during a sightseeing flight at the end of the 1970s. The transformation of the volcano into a monumental work of art and a kind of celestial observatory is now considered one of the most ambitious and important works of contemporary art. 

The ongoing realization of the Roden Crater, which is a unique land art project, includes the construction of a network of underground rooms and corridors inside. These sensitive spaces, known as «skyspaces», respond to different qualities of light. The «perception spaces» have an opening in the ceiling towards the sky and are subtly illuminated with artificial light at nightfall. These architectural interventions allow the viewer to experience the universe as a new, expanded space. In this way, nature and art merge into a total work of art that offers unique sensory experiences.

You can find more information about the Roden Crater here.

ARD-Mediathek from 05.05.2023, duration: 43:56 minutes | Documentaries and reports on BR
Bild: picture alliance / dpa | Christina Horsten

James Turrell (1943 born in Los Angeles, CA, US lives and works in Flagstaf, Arizona, US)

Exhibitions (Selection) 
2024 Small Elliptical Glass «First Cause», Häusler Contemporary Zürich, CH*
2023 «Works 1984 – 2023», Häusler Contemporary Zürich, CH *
2022 «Aftershock», Copenhagen Contemporary, Copenhagen, DK *
2021 James Turrell: Into the Light, MASS MoCA, North Adams, Massachusetts, US *
2020 «The Circular Glass», Häusler Contemporary Zürich, CH *
2019 «James Turrell: Passages of Light«, Museo Jumex, Ciudad de México, MX *
2018 «The Substance of Light», Museum Frieder Burda, Baden-Baden, DE *
«The Elliptical Glass», Häusler Contemporary Zürich, CH *
«Ganzfeld ‘Aural’», Jüdisches Museum, Berlin, DE *
2017 «James Turrell», MASS MoCA – Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art, North Adams, MA, US *
«Immersive Light», The Long Museum, Shanghai, CN *
2015 «LightScape: James Turrell at Houghton» Houghton Hall Norfolk, GB *
2014 «James Turrell: Light Spaces», The Israel Museum, Jerusalem, IL *
2013 «James Turrell», The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York, US *
«James Turrell: The Light Inside», MFAH – The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, US *
«James Turrell. A Retrospective», LACMA – Los Angeles Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles, US *
2012 «James Turrell: Agua De Luz», Cenote Santa Maria, Yucatan, MX *
2010 «The Wolfsburg Project», Kunstmuseum Wolfsburg, DE *
2009 «The Roden Crater», Häusler Contemporary München, DE *

Projects