Dan Flavin

(American, 1933–1996)

Dan Flavin was an American artist and pioneer of Minimalism, best known for his seminal installations of light fixtures. His illuminated sculptures offer a rigorous formal and conceptual investigation of space and light, wherein the artist arranged commercial fluorescent bulbs into differing geometric compositions. “I like art as thought better than art as work,” he once said. “I've always maintained this. It's important to me that I don't get my hands dirty. It's not because I'm instinctively lazy. It's a declaration: art is thought.” Born on April 1, 1933 in Jamaica, NY, Flavin showed an interest in art during his early adulthood, and went on to study at the Hans Hofmann School of Fine Arts before attending Columbia University. Working exclusively with fluorescent lights by 1961, he embraced the temporary nature of his art—which often shattered or blew out—and was happy to replace parts of his works as needed. His dedication to simple forms, use of industrial materials, and symbolic meaning allied his practice to the work of both Donald Judd and Sol LeWitt. Flavin was the subject of a major retrospective at the Guggenheim Museum in New York in 1992. The artist died in Riverhead, NY on November 29, 1996. Today, his works are held in the collections of the Art Institute of Chicago, the Dia: Beacon in New York, the Menil Collection in Houston, and the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., among others.

Dan Flavin Artworks

Dan Flavin (702 results)
Sails, 1986

Dan Flavin

Sails, 1986

Sale Date: April 18, 2024

Auction Closed

(to Don Judd, colorist) 1-7 (G. 1315-1321), 1986

Dan Flavin

(to Don Judd, colorist) 1-7 (G. 1315-1321), 1986

Sale Date: April 16, 2024

Auction Closed

untitled (diagram for cool white circular..., 1976

Dan Flavin

untitled (diagram for cool white circular..., 1976

Sale Date: March 4, 2024

Auction Closed

East New York Shrine, 1963

Dan Flavin

East New York Shrine, 1963

Sale Date: February 29, 2024

Auction Closed

Sails 19 (of April 12, 1974), 1974

Dan Flavin

Sails 19 (of April 12, 1974), 1974

Sale Date: January 18, 2024

Auction Closed

For Enno, 1986

Dan Flavin

For Enno, 1986

Sale Date: November 30, 2023

Auction Closed

untitled, 1974

Dan Flavin

untitled, 1974

Sale Date: November 15, 2023

Auction Closed

Untitled (for Charlotte and Jim Brooks) 2, 1964

Dan Flavin

Untitled (for Charlotte and Jim Brooks) 2, 1964

Sale Date: November 16, 2023

Auction Closed

For Circular Fluorescent Light Of One Wall, 1974

Dan Flavin

For Circular Fluorescent Light Of One Wall, 1974

Sale Date: October 12, 2023

Auction Closed

Dan Flavin

"monument" for V. Tatlin, 1970

Sale Date: September 28, 2023

Auction Closed

Untitled (from the New York Collection for..., 1973

Dan Flavin

Untitled (from the New York Collection for..., 1973

Sale Date: July 13, 2023

Auction Closed

Sans titre, Hommage à Picasso, 1974

Dan Flavin

Sans titre, Hommage à Picasso, 1974

Sale Date: June 28, 2023

Auction Closed

untitled (for Ad Reinhardt) 1b, 1990

Dan Flavin

untitled (for Ad Reinhardt) 1b, 1990

Sale Date: May 16, 2023

Auction Closed

The Diagonal of May 25, 1963, 1963

Dan Flavin

The Diagonal of May 25, 1963, 1963

Sale Date: May 19, 2023

Auction Closed

UNTITLED (TO FREDERICKA AND IAN) 2, 1987

Dan Flavin

UNTITLED (TO FREDERICKA AND IAN) 2, 1987

Sale Date: May 19, 2023

Auction Closed

Untitled (to Piet Mondrian), 1985

Dan Flavin

Untitled (to Piet Mondrian), 1985

Sale Date: May 17, 2023

Auction Closed

Untitled (Triptych for the Stedelijk), 1987

Dan Flavin

Untitled (Triptych for the Stedelijk), 1987

Sale Date: April 25, 2023

Auction Closed

untitled (to Lucie Rie, master potter) 1ddd, 1990

Dan Flavin

untitled (to Lucie Rie, master potter) 1ddd, 1990

Sale Date: April 18, 2023

Auction Closed

Untitled, 1964

Dan Flavin

Untitled, 1964

Sale Date: March 2, 2023

Auction Closed

Disastrous lights, 1993

Dan Flavin

Disastrous lights, 1993

Sale Date: December 20, 2022

Auction Closed

Senza titolo, 1974

Dan Flavin

Senza titolo, 1974

Sale Date: December 13, 2022

Auction Closed

Guggenheim Tondo, 1992

Dan Flavin

Guggenheim Tondo, 1992

Sale Date: December 1, 2022

Auction Closed

Hommage à Vladimir Tatlin - 1973, 1973

Dan Flavin

Hommage à Vladimir Tatlin - 1973, 1973

Sale Date: October 25, 2022

Auction Closed

Guggenheim Tondo, 1992

Dan Flavin

Guggenheim Tondo, 1992

Sale Date: September 8, 2022

Auction Closed