New Biography Of Sol LeWitt From A Man Who Knew Him Well

Lary Bloom knew Sol LeWitt as a friend when the Hartford-born, New Britain-raised conceptualist artist lived in Chester in his later years. Bloom’s biography of one of the most important and influential artists of the 20th century, "Sol LeWitt: A Life of Ideas” (Wesleyan University Press), takes a close-up and personal look at the person who revolutionized traditional practices of how art is made and marketed. Bloom, who was editor of The Hartford Courant’s Northeast Sunday magazine, spoke about his relationship with the artist — who died in 2007 at the age of 78 — and the challenge of writing a book about someone you know and admire.

Sol LerWitt.jpg

"Sol LeWitt: A Life of Ideas" is a new biography of the artist by Lary Bloom.

Q: When did you first think about doing the biography?

A: In 2005, I went to his studio and he was working on a drawing and I asked him about it and he said it was a new piece that was going up in Reggio Emilia, Italy. It’s not a wall drawing, he said, but rather for a ceiling in a library. I didn’t realize at the time how sick he was.

The synagogue in Chester, CT

The synagogue in Chester, CT

Later that year I was in Italy and went into the library and there it was on the ceiling and suddenly something dawned on me. Sol — the artist — had not seen his finished work yet. Of course, he could picture it but he hadn’t seen the physical product — and that’s the point. The work of art is in the idea. That was part of the impetus to write about him because this is an important story to tell.

Q: When did you first meet him?

A: It was at the synagogue, which at that point was in Deep River and with art friends like Peter and Jan Good.

Lary Bloom

Lary Bloom