Mary Corse
Mary Corse is an American painter whose white acrylic paintings incorporate reflective glass microspheres, shifting with light and the viewer's position.
Painter
Robert Irwin
Robert Irwin was an American artist whose oil paintings and sprayed acrylic discs led to pioneering work with light and perception in California.
Robert Irwin quick facts
Irwin's painting career included oil on canvas and sprayed acrylic or lacquer on shaped discs, before his focus shifted to light, space, and perception.
| Born | 1928 · Long Beach, California, U.S. |
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| Died | 2023 · La Jolla, California, U.S. |
| Nationality | American |
| Movements | Light and Space · early Abstract Expressionism |
| Paint types | Oil paint · Acrylic paint · Acrylic lacquer |
| Painting surfaces | Canvas · Aluminum · Acrylic plastic (formed discs) |
| Painting methods | Subtle dot and line paintings; sprayed, graduated finishes on shaped discs under carefully positioned lighting |
| Common subjects | Light, perception, spatial boundaries, visual attention, and changing viewing conditions |
| Known for | Moving from optical paintings and hovering painted discs into site-conditioned Light and Space installations |
| Notable works | Untitled (1963–1965) · Untitled (1966–1967) · Scrim veil—Black rectangle—Natural light (1977) |
Sources: Whitney Museum, Whitney Museum: oil painting, LACMA: acrylic disc, Norton Simon Museum: acrylic lacquer, Getty Research: biographical record, Smithsonian American Art Museum.
Paint types used by Robert Irwin
Robert Irwin worked with Oil paint, Acrylic paint, Acrylic lacquer; examples below name works and explain how the medium shapes their appearance or making.
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Oil paint
The Whitney documents an early Irwin oil painting in its collection. Fine dots and lines mark this earlier phase before he moved toward shaped, light-responsive objects; the work records his use of conventional paint on a flat support before his later focus on perception and space.
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Acrylic paint
LACMA records Irwin’s acrylic-painted disc, where sprayed color and the shaped support create a hovering, perceptually unstable form. Acrylic paint here is distinct from the acrylic lacquer finish documented on another work; both materials show his interest in how surface and surrounding light affect perception.
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Acrylic lacquer
The Norton Simon Museum identifies acrylic lacquer in another Irwin disc work. The lacquer is a distinct coating from ordinary acrylic paint, applied to a shaped object whose edge and shadow affect the viewer’s perception. The museum record supports the specific material rather than inferring it from a glossy finish.
Sources: Whitney Museum: Irwin oil painting; LACMA: Irwin acrylic disc; Norton Simon Museum: acrylic lacquer disc.
Painting surfaces used by Robert Irwin
Robert Irwin's documented works use canvas and aluminum; examples clarify whether each is the painted ground, support, or part of the object.
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Canvas
Irwin’s early paintings are documented on canvas, a flat support used before his experiments with shaped and light-responsive objects. These works belong to his earlier painting phase, distinct from the acrylic-painted discs and aluminum constructions that later altered the boundary between art object and space.
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Aluminum
Irwin used aluminum in constructed works and installations, where the metal support shapes the viewing experience. Its edges, reflectivity, and placement in space affect how light and shadow are perceived, extending his practice beyond flat canvas paintings. The collection record identifies aluminum in the work’s documented construction.
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Acrylic plastic
His formed acrylic-plastic discs create transparent and reflective surfaces in selected works. The material bends or diffuses light and changes appearance as viewers move, making the support part of the perceptual experience rather than a neutral backing. The object record identifies this material as part of the work.
Sources: Whitney Museum, Whitney Museum: oil painting, LACMA: acrylic disc, Norton Simon Museum: acrylic lacquer, Getty Research: biographical record.
Painters similar to Robert Irwin
Irwin connects to Light and Space artists who used optical effects and postwar installation to shape how viewers experience light and space.
Billy Al Bengston
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Roy Thurston
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Norman Zammitt
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Craig Kauffman
Craig Kauffman was a U.S. artist who spray-applied acrylic lacquer to vacuum-formed Plexiglas reliefs associated with Finish Fetish and Light and Space.