Untitled 1971

Larry Bell's 'Untitled', installed here at the Tate Modern, messes with your eyes, doesn't it? It's an exercise in subtlety. These glass structures shift from almost invisible to dense blocks of color. Up close, you can see the layers of coating on the glass. It's not just see-through stuff; it's a material worked, like paint, until it gives just the right tone. Look how the light catches the edges, almost erasing them. Then, in the darker areas, it’s like looking into deep water. That transition, that slow gradient, makes the whole thing breathe. It’s not solid, not fixed; it's all about change, about how light moves and how we move with it. Bell reminds me a little of Robert Irwin; both artists are so careful with how their work changes the space around it. It's not about making a 'thing', it's about making you see.