Keith Sonnier
Keith Sonnier | |
|---|---|
| Born | James Keith Sonnier July 31, 1941 Process Art |
| Spouse(s) | Jacqueline Winsor (1966–1980, divorce), Nessia Leonzini Pope (1987–1998, divorce) |
| Children | 1 |
| Website | www |
Keith Sonnier (July 31, 1941 – July 18, 2020)
Biography
James Keith Sonnier was born July 31, 1941, in Mamou, Louisiana.[1] His family was Cajun and Roman Catholic. His father was a hardware store owner, Joseph Sonnier, and his mother was a florist and singer, Mae Ledoux.[1][5]
He graduated in 1963 from Southwestern Louisiana Institute (now known as the University of Louisiana at Lafayette).[1] In 1966, he graduated with his MFA degree from Rutgers University, where he studied under Allan Kaprow, Robert Watts, and Robert Morris.[1] After graduation from Rutgers, he moved to New York City with Jackie Winsor and some of his former classmates.[1]
At the time of his death he lived in Bridgehampton, New York.[1] Sonnier died in Southampton, NY on July 18, 2020, of MDS (Myelodysplastic syndrome) and complications from it at the age of 78.[1]
Work
Sonnier began experimenting with neon in 1968.[5] Neon lights became a signature material used in his sculptural works.[5] The common materials Sonnier employed included neon and fluorescent lights; reflective materials; aluminum and copper; and glass and wires.[2]
His postminimalist and sculpture contemporaries included Bruce Nauman, Eva Hesse, Richard Serra, Richard Tuttle, Jackie Winsor, and Barry LeVa.[5]
Personal life
In 1966 he married the sculptor
His second marriage was in 1987 to Nessia Leonzini Pope, ending in divorce by 1998.[1][6] He had one child from his second marriage.[1]
References
- ^ ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2021-05-14.
- ^ a b Sussler, Betsy (April 1, 1982). "Aesthesipol: Keith Sonnier by Betsy Sussler". BOMB Magazine. Retrieved 2021-05-14.
- ^ Brown, Kate (July 20, 2020). "Sculptor Keith Sonnier, America's Experimental Poet of Light and Neon, Has Died at Age 78". Artnet.
- ^ Blagg, Max (May 2012). "Keith Sonnier". Interview. Retrieved June 1, 2013.
- ^ a b c d King, Elaine A. (April 30, 2019). "Dispatch: Keith Sonnier". Sculpture (magazine).
- ^ "Keith Sonnier in New York, New York, U.S., Marriage License Indexes, 1907-2018". Ancestry.com. Index to Marriages, New York City Clerk's Office, New York City, New York State. 1987.
License Number: 26140
External links
- Keith Sonnier in the National Gallery of Australia's Kenneth Tyler Collection
- Askart.com
- Keith Sonnier in the Video Data Bank
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