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Helen Pashgian — Untitled (Sphere Emerald Green)
Helen Pashgian

Untitled (Sphere Emerald Green)

1967

Suspended in perfect spherical form, this 1967 work by Helen Pashgian embodies the quiet radicalism of the Light and Space movement at its most distilled. Cast in polyester and acrylic resin, the sphere holds an interior luminosity that seems to generate light rather than merely reflect it, the deep emerald tone shifting subtly as the viewer moves around the object. Pashgian was among the first artists to master the technical demands of resin casting at this scale, and this early work demonstrates her exceptional control over a notoriously unpredictable material, one capable of trapping color within what feels like solid light. Pashgian developed her resin practice in Los Angeles during the mid-1960s, working independently and in dialogue with contemporaries such as Larry Bell and Robert Irwin, though her approach remained distinctly her own. Where many Light and Space artists pursued architectural or environmental scales, Pashgian invested intimate, handheld objects with a meditative intensity that rewards close looking. The sphere format is particularly significant in her practice, as it eliminates compositional hierarchy and draws attention entirely to the behavior of light within the object itself. Dating to 1967, this work carries considerable historical weight as an artifact of a pivotal moment in West Coast art, predating the broader institutional recognition that the movement would later receive. Signed and offered in its original unframed state, the piece presents in a condition consistent with its age and is well-suited to a collection focused on postwar California art, phenomenological practice, or the history of sculpture in industrial materials. Its modest dimensions belie a presence far exceeding its physical scale.

Medium
Polyester Resin, Acrylic Resin
Overall
Signed
Yes

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About this work

Helen Pashgian, Untitled (Sphere Emerald Green), 1967

Suspended in perfect spherical form, this 1967 work by Helen Pashgian embodies the quiet radicalism of the Light and Space movement at its most distilled. Cast in polyester and acrylic resin, the sphere holds an interior luminosity that seems to generate light rather than merely reflect it, the deep emerald tone shifting subtly as the viewer moves around the object. Pashgian was among the first artists to master the technical demands of resin casting at this scale, and this early work demonstrates her exceptional control over a notoriously unpredictable material, one capable of trapping color within what feels like solid light. Pashgian developed her resin practice in Los Angeles during the mid-1960s, working independently and in dialogue with contemporaries such as Larry Bell and Robert Irwin, though her approach remained distinctly her own. Where many Light and Space artists pursued architectural or environmental scales, Pashgian invested intimate, handheld objects with a meditative intensity that rewards close looking. The sphere format is particularly significant in her practice, as it eliminates compositional hierarchy and draws attention entirely to the behavior of light within the object itself. Dating to 1967, this work carries considerable historical weight as an artifact of a pivotal moment in West Coast art, predating the broader institutional recognition that the movement would later receive. Signed and offered in its original unframed state, the piece presents in a condition consistent with its age and is well-suited to a collection focused on postwar California art, phenomenological practice, or the history of sculpture in industrial materials. Its modest dimensions belie a presence far exceeding its physical scale.

Medium
Polyester Resin, Acrylic Resin
Dimensions
overall: 17.8 x 17.8 x 17.8 cm
Year
1967
Signed
Hand-signed by the artist
Seen at
Peter Blake Gallery

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