Transforming color into light is one of the great themes of painting. Dan Flavin (1933–1996) used light as color and material.

Employing ordinary neon light tubes, he developed a radical new form of art that freed the “picture” from its frame and turned it into a luminous, space-consuming color object. Expanding the wall painting by turning it into a light installation corresponded with the liberation of light from its traditionally spiritual meaning. Flavin’s works recall neon signs from urban nightlife or commonplace living-room lamps. Viewers find themselves immersed in a splendid play of light and color that allows the physical experience of unrestrained art.

This publication elucidates the development of Flavin’s oeuvre—from the visual objects, the so-called Icons, to the spatial installations with neon tubes—and explains their genesis based on drawings and prints, an independent group of works that testifies to the artist’s visual sensitivity.