Who's Afraid of Red, Yellow & Blue 2006

Robert Irwin uses colored scrims to transform the gallery space into an immersive experience. The large planes of red, yellow, and blue create an environment where color and light interact, challenging our perception of depth and form. Irwin's work destabilizes traditional notions of art as object. Instead, he emphasizes the viewer's embodied experience within the space. The interplay of light and color invites us to question our assumptions about what we see and how we see it. The colors themselves, primary and bold, serve as elemental building blocks, deconstructing the gallery into pure sensory experience. By carefully manipulating space and light, Irwin blurs the boundaries between the artwork and its surroundings. The gallery is no longer a neutral container but an integral part of the piece, emphasizing that art is not just what is seen, but how it is seen, turning perception itself into the art.