List of invisible artworks

This is a list of invisible artworks; that is, works of art that cannot be seen and, in many cases, touched.

Invisible artworks

Artist Title Year Description
Yves Klein "Zone de Sensibilité Picturale Immatérielle" (Zone of Immaterial Pictorial Sensibility) 1959 Consists of the sale of documentation of ownership of empty space; the piece could be completed in a ritual in which the buyer would burn said documentation.
Marinus Boezem "Show V: Immateriële ruimte" (Immaterial space) 1965 Consists of three "air doors" made from currents of cold and warm air blown into the room.[1]
Michael Asher "Vertical Column of Accelerated Air" 1966 Drafts of pressurized air.[2]
Art & Language (group) "Air-Conditioning Show [fr]" or "Air Show" 1967 An empty room with two air conditioning units; the artwork is "what is felt and said about it", and not anything tangible.[3]
James Lee Byars "The Ghost of James Lee Byars" 1969 The artwork itself is the emptiness and darkness of a pitch-black room.[4][5]
Robert Barry "Telepathic Piece" 1969 An artwork "the nature of which is a series of thoughts that are not applicable to language or image", which Barry would communicate telepathically to visitors during the exhibit.[6]
Andy Warhol "Invisible Sculpture" 1985 Consists of an invisible, intangible sculpture atop a white pedestal.[3]
Tom Friedman "Untitled (A Curse)" 1992 Similar to Warhol's sculpture, but a witch was reportedly hired to curse the space immediately above the pedestal.[3]
Teresa Margolles "Aire" (Air) 2003 Similar to Air Show, the artwork consists of a room with air humidified with water used to wash corpses before autopsy.[7]
Jeppe Hein "Invisible Labyrinth" 2005 A maze with invisible and intangible walls; visitors are given headphones that vibrate when they "touch" a wall.[2]
Roman Ondak "More Silent Than Ever" 2006 The artwork consists of a covert listening device supposedly hidden somewhere in the (empty) exhibition room: visitors are told they are being eavesdropped. The device itself cannot be seen, and no evidence is given that it really exists.[8]
Salvatore Garau "Buddha in Contemplazione" (Buddha in Contemplation) 2021 An invisible, intangible sculpture.[9]
Salvatore Garau "Io Sono" (I am) 2021 Another invisible, intangible sculpture, that occupies a square area with side of 5 ft (1.5 m).[9]
Ruben Gutierrez "This Sculpture Makes Me Cry (A Spell)" 2022 An immaterial, invisible sculpture atop a small white pedestal, displayed as part of a bigger exhibit. It is said to represent what the artist cannot see, but which affects him emotionally, making him feel invisible and insignificant.[10][11]

See also

References

  1. ^ "Marinus Boezem Solo Exhibition 'All Shows' at Kröller Müller Museum". Upstream Gallery. Amsterdam. 1 May 2021. Retrieved 7 June 2021.
  2. ^ a b Rugoff, Ralph (10 June 2012). "The 10 best… invisible artworks". The Guardian. Retrieved 2 June 2021.
  3. ^ a b c Blake, Robin (27 July 2012). "The power of sights unseen". Financial Times. Retrieved 2 June 2021.
  4. ^ White, Lindsey; Stein, Jordan; Kasprzak, David (eds.). "The Ghost of James Lee Byars: A Retrospective". Will Brown. Retrieved 7 June 2021.
  5. ^ Budick, Ariella (25 June 2014). "James Lee Byars: 1/2 an Autobiography, MoMA PS1, New York – review". Financial Times. Retrieved 7 June 2021.
  6. ^ Drinkall, Jacquelene; Neidich, Warren (2016). "Immaterial Technologies of Mindedness". Journal of Neuroaesthetics. Telepathy and Art. Artbrain.org. Retrieved 7 June 2021.
  7. ^ "TERESA MARGOLLES - Muerte sin fin". Museum für Moderne Kunst. 2004. Retrieved 2 June 2021.
  8. ^ Grúň, Daniel (19 March 2009). "Roman Ondák: More Silent Than Ever". SME (in Slovak). Retrieved 7 June 2021.
  9. ^ a b Santora, Sara (1 June 2021). "Italian Artist Sells Invisible Sculpture for More Than $18,000". Newsweek. Retrieved 2 June 2021.
  10. ^ "Forzar la puerta del presente". Colector Gallery. 2 February 2022. Retrieved 25 February 2022.
  11. ^ Gutierrez, Ruben [@rubeneitor] (7 February 2022). "This Sculpture Makes Me Cry (A Spell) 2022" (in Spanish). Mexico City. Archived from the original on 25 February 2022. Retrieved 25 February 2022 – via Instagram.