(via U.T. Austin College of Fine Arts LANDMARKS)

James Turrell is a boundary-breaking artist known for immersive installations that use light—both natural and artificial—as a medium. I first encountered his work during my final project at the Oxbow School in high school, and I’ve been captivated ever since. Turrell’s art is a powerful study in color psychology, spatial perception, and the emotional power of light. Rather than working with physical materials, he shapes the viewer’s experience through controlled, often meditative environments that heighten your awareness of space and presence.

A key figure in the Light and Space movement alongside Robert Irwin and Doug Wheeler, Turrell emerged in Los Angeles in the 1960s with a new approach to minimalism—one that emphasizes visual perception and architectural transformation. Since 1981, he has worked on his magnum opus: the Roden Crater, an extinct volcano in Arizona that he’s transforming into a celestial observatory and one of the most ambitious land art projects of our time.

I had the chance to experience one of Turrell’s subtle light installations at the Mattress Factory in Pittsburgh. It was transformative—at first barely perceptible, and then all-encompassing. After several minutes, your depth perception dissolves completely, and you're left suspended in color. He alters the very act of seeing, gently revealing how subjective and sensitive our perception really is. His works reside in major institutions including LACMA, the deYoung Museum, the Guggenheim, and MOCA Boston—but each one feels personal, atmospheric, and surprisingly emotional.

(Guggenheim Foundation via The New Yorker)

(Roden Crater via Wall Street Journal)

(via Art in America)

(via ArchDaily)

(Skyspace at U.T. Austin via ArchDaily)

(Guggenheim Foundation via New York Times)

(deYoung Museum via Secret San Francisco)

(Kendall Jenner’s home tour via Architectural Digest)

James Turrell’s work reminds us that perception is never passive—it’s an active, deeply personal encounter with the world around us. By sculpting light, he reveals just how fluid our experience of space, color, and time can be. Whether encountered in a museum, under an open sky, or tucked into the corner of a private home, his installations invite us to slow down, look closer, and step into the sublime.

xoko