Nancy Holt, Mirrors of Light I (1974)

Installation view: Nancy Holt: Mirrors of Light, Sprüth Magers, Berlin, Germany, 2021

Ten mirrors, 650 watt quartz light

Overall dimensions: 11 x 20 x 28 ft. (3.4 x 6.1 x 8.5 m); mirrors: 9 1/2 in. (24.1 cm) diameter

Photograph: Ingo Kniest

© Holt/Smithson Foundation / Licensed by Artists Rights Society, New York

a room with light reflected from a diagonal line of mirrors

Nancy Holt, Mirrors of Light I (1974)

Installation view: Nancy Holt: Mirrors of Light, Sprüth Magers, Berlin, Germany, 2021

Ten mirrors, 650 watt quartz light

Overall dimensions: 11 x 20 x 28 ft. (3.4 x 6.1 x 8.5 m); mirrors: 9 1/2 in. (24.1 cm) diameter

Photograph: Ingo Kniest

© Holt/Smithson Foundation / Licensed by Artists Rights Society, New York

Nancy Holt, Mirrors of Light I (1974)

Installation view: Nancy Holt: Mirrors of Light, Sprüth Magers, Berlin, Germany, 2021

Ten mirrors, 650 watt quartz light

Overall dimensions: 11 x 20 x 28 ft. (3.4 x 6.1 x 8.5 m); mirrors: 9 1/2 in. (24.1 cm) diameter

Photograph: Ingo Kniest

© Holt/Smithson Foundation / Licensed by Artists Rights Society, New York

a room with light reflected from a diagonal line of mirrors

Nancy Holt, Mirrors of Light I (1974)

Installation view: Nancy Holt: Mirrors of Light, Sprüth Magers, Berlin, Germany, 2021

Ten mirrors, 650 watt quartz light

Overall dimensions: 11 x 20 x 28 ft. (3.4 x 6.1 x 8.5 m); mirrors: 9 1/2 in. (24.1 cm) diameter

Photograph: Ingo Kniest

© Holt/Smithson Foundation / Licensed by Artists Rights Society, New York

Nancy Holt, Mirrors of Light I (1974)

Installation view: Nancy Holt: Mirrors of Light, Sprüth Magers, Berlin, Germany, 2021

Ten mirrors, 650 watt quartz light

Overall dimensions: 11 x 20 x 28 ft. (3.4 x 6.1 x 8.5 m); mirrors: 9 1/2 in. (24.1 cm) diameter

Photograph: Ingo Kniest

© Holt/Smithson Foundation / Licensed by Artists Rights Society, New York

a room with light reflected from a diagonal line of mirrors

Nancy Holt, Mirrors of Light I (1974)

Installation view: Nancy Holt: Mirrors of Light, Sprüth Magers, Berlin, Germany, 2021

Ten mirrors, 650 watt quartz light

Overall dimensions: 11 x 20 x 28 ft. (3.4 x 6.1 x 8.5 m); mirrors: 9 1/2 in. (24.1 cm) diameter

Photograph: Ingo Kniest

© Holt/Smithson Foundation / Licensed by Artists Rights Society, New York

Nancy Holt, Mirrors of Light I (1974)

Installation view: Nancy Holt: Mirrors of Light, Sprüth Magers, Berlin, Germany, 2021

Ten mirrors, 650 watt quartz light

Overall dimensions: 11 x 20 x 28 ft. (3.4 x 6.1 x 8.5 m); mirrors: 9 1/2 in. (24.1 cm) diameter

Photograph: Ingo Kniest

© Holt/Smithson Foundation / Licensed by Artists Rights Society, New York

a room with light reflected from a diagonal line of mirrors

Nancy Holt, Mirrors of Light I (1974)

Installation view: Nancy Holt: Mirrors of Light, Sprüth Magers, Berlin, Germany, 2021

Ten mirrors, 650 watt quartz light

Overall dimensions: 11 x 20 x 28 ft. (3.4 x 6.1 x 8.5 m); mirrors: 9 1/2 in. (24.1 cm) diameter

Photograph: Ingo Kniest

© Holt/Smithson Foundation / Licensed by Artists Rights Society, New York

Exhibitions

Nancy Holt: Mirrors of Light

Nov 26, 2021 – Jan 27, 2022
Solo Exhibition
Sprüth Magers, Berlin
Press Release
A figure standing in a white walled room. A diagonal line of mirrors in a white walled room. Light is reflecting off the mirrors, creating orbs of light on the other two walls

In 2021, Holt/Smithson Foundation and Sprüth Magers presented the first solo exhibition by Nancy Holt at the Berlin gallery, featuring her iconic installation, Mirrors of Light I (1974) alongside key works on paper.

Throughout her practice, Holt was interested in the use of light as a medium, while simultaneously examining it as subject matter in its own right. In this installation, light is a conceptual entity and a physical reality, a practical resource and an aesthetic object. Mirrors of Light I creates an opportunity for self-examination through the perceptions that arise in the face of her work.

Learn more and watch a video walkthrough of the exhibition on the Sprüth Magers website.

More Exhibitions

A sign in a sunny clearing that says "Sun Gold Date Shop"

Nancy Holt: Light and Shadow Poetics

Feb 25 – May 24, 2026
Solo Exhibition
MAK Center for Art and Architecture, Los Angeles
https://www.makcenter.org/exhibitions/nancy-holt-light-and-shadow-poetics

What does it mean to notice how we see? Nancy Holt: Light and Shadow Poetics at the MAK Center for Art and Architecture at the Schindler House in Los Angeles brings Nancy Holt’s study of perception into a close conversation with the site. Here, light, sound, language, and movement meet as parallel systems for organizing perception.