American artist Dan Flavin began using his most iconic medium—fluorescent tube lights—in the early 1960s. A Primary Picture, 1964, in Glenstone’s collection, uses five tubes to cast the primary colors of red, blue, and yellow. The off-the-shelf lights are arranged in a simple rectangular shape, mimicking the composition of a traditional painting. As manufacturers phase out production of older lighting technologies in favor of LEDs, conservators of Flavin’s work have begun stockpiling the tubes for future installations. Today the work serves as a demonstration of Flavin’s singular achievement in generating new ways of viewing light, space, and art.

–Tim Butler, from the Glenstone Field Guide