Upper hallway

The Stedelijk Museum boasts a beautiful grand staircase that leads to the upper hallway where the light installation of minimalist American artist Dan Flavin (1933–1996) is exhibited. Originally designed specifically for this location, it was first presented in 1986. The work was added to the museum’s permanent collection and was reinstalled in 2011. This is the second of two parts of the installation and is untitled (to Piet Mondrian who lacked green) 2.

Mondrian (1872-1944) is a well-known Dutch artist known for his use of lines and the primary colours of art: red, yellow and blue. Although Mondrian rejected green, Flavin used the colour often as it is one of the primary colours of light, the others being red and blue. So, while Mondrian lacked green in his work, Flavin did not.

Flavin is considered one of the most important artists of the 20th century for his introduction of large scale installation art as well as his use of colour and light. In addition to art, he has influenced architecture and design.