Keith Sonnier
Keith Sonnier | |
---|---|
Born | James Keith Sonnier July 31, 1941 Mamou, Louisiana, U.S. |
Died | July 18, 2020 Southampton, New York, U.S. | (aged 78)
Alma mater | University of Louisiana at Lafayette, Rutgers University |
Known for | performance, sculpture |
Movement | Postminimalism, Process Art |
Spouse(s) | Jacqueline Winsor (1966–1980, divorce), Nessia Leonzini Pope (1987–1998, divorce) |
Children | 1 |
Website | www |
Keith Sonnier (July 31, 1941 – July 18, 2020)[1] was a postminimalist sculptor, performance artist, video and light artist.[2] Sonnier was one of the first artists to use light in sculpture in the 1960s, and was one of the most successful with this technique. Sonnier was a part of the Process Art movement.[1][3][4]
Biography[]
James Keith Sonnier was born July 31, 1941 in Mamou, Louisiana.[1] His family was Cajun and Roman Catholic, his father was a hardware store owner, Joseph Sonnier, and his mother was a florist and singer, Mae Ledoux.[1][5]
He graduated in 1963 from Southwestern Louisiana Institute (now known as the University of Louisiana at Lafayette).[1] In 1966, he graduated with his MFA degree from Rutgers University, where he studied under Allan Kaprow, Robert Watts, and Robert Morris.[1] After graduation from Rutgers, he moved to New York City with his some of his former classmates and his wife Jackie.[1]
Before his death he lived in Bridgehampton, New York.[1] Sonnier died on July 18, 2020 of an undisclosed illness, in nearby Southhampton, New York at the age of 78.[1]
Work[]
Sonnier began experimenting with neon in 1968.[5] Neon lights later became a signature material used in his sculptural works.[5] The common materials Sonnier employed included neon and fluorescent lights; reflective materials; aluminum and copper; and glass and wires.[2]
His postminimalist and sculpture contemporaries included Bruce Nauman, Eva Hesse, Richard Serra, Richard Tuttle, Jackie Winsor, and Barry LeVa.[5]
Personal life[]
In 1966, he married Jackie Windsor, a fellow art student from Rutgers University.[1] His first marriage lasted until 1980, ending in divorce.[1]
HIs second marriage was in 1987 to curator Nessia Leonzini Pope, ending in divorce by 1998.[1][6] He had one child from his second marriage.[1]
References[]
- ^ Jump up to: a b c d e f g h i j k l m Kennedy, Randy (2020-07-23). "Keith Sonnier, Playful Sculptor in Neon, Dies at 78". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2021-05-14.
- ^ Jump up to: a b Sussler, Betsy (April 1, 1982). "Aesthesipol: Keith Sonnier by Betsy Sussler". BOMB Magazine. Retrieved 2021-05-14.
- ^ Brown, Kate (July 20, 2020). "Sculptor Keith Sonnier, America's Experimental Poet of Light and Neon, Has Died at Age 78". Artnet.
- ^ Blagg, Max (May 2012). "Keith Sonnier". Interview. Retrieved June 1, 2013.
- ^ Jump up to: a b c d King, Elaine A. (April 30, 2019). "Dispatch: Keith Sonnier". Sculpture (magazine).
- ^ "Keith Sonnier in New York, New York, U.S., Marriage License Indexes, 1907-2018". Ancestry.com. Index to Marriages, New York City Clerk's Office, New York City, New York State. 1987.
License Number: 26140
External links[]
- 1941 births
- 2020 deaths
- People from Mamou, Louisiana
- American video artists
- Neon artists
- Minimalist artists
- Artists from Louisiana
- Sculptors from Louisiana
- American sculptor stubs