Almine Rech Publishes James Turrell Monograph Linking Quaker Roots to Light Art

Éditions Images modernes has released a bilingual monograph on James Turrell, introduced by gallerist Almine Rech, whose gallery will exhibit Turrell's works starting October. The book opens with an interview that draws parallels between Turrell's Quaker upbringing and his artistic vocabulary—terms like 'silence,' 'inwardness,' and 'reception of light' echo his religious education. Since the 1960s, Turrell's practice has been grounded in the equation of silence, gaze, and light, aiming to disrupt habitual perception. The monograph's rich iconography, from early Projections to recent aquatints, shows light subverting the expected effects of ordinary objects and spaces. Turrell's statement, 'We could live with less electric light. We can touch with our eyes,' encapsulates his reinvention of civilization's relationship with light. Written by Jérôme Lebrun, the book is one of the few bilingual resources currently available.