Sol LeWitt (1928-1997) was an artist who is considered one of the most important figures of American conceptual art. He is known for his geometric sculptures and wall paintings. He contributed to establishing Modernism and Conceptualism as two of the dominant movements on the post-war art scene in the United States, after the demise of Abstract Expressionism.
Although he was initially associated with Modernism, LeWitt turned to conceptual art as he felt that modern art focused too much on novelty and that the idea behind an artwork hereby often became of lesser importance. For the artist, the idea that led to the creation of an artwork was the artwork. The physical manifestation of the idea was not vital and LeWitt therefore employed helpers to carry out his designs.
LeWitt wrote Paragraphs on Conceptual Art in 1967 and the text is seen as the manifesto of Conceptualism. Although he drew the ire of more traditional art critics, LeWitt was indubitably one of the most influential artists of the late twentieth century. An overview of his mural art opened at MASS MoCA (Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art) in 2008 and will remain on view for twenty-five years.