Nancy Holt, Mirrors of Light I (1974)
Installation view: Bykert Gallery, New York City, 1974
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 each

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

Holt's Mirrors of Light installed in a gallery

Nancy Holt, Mirrors of Light I (1974)
Installation view: Bykert Gallery, New York City, 1974
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 each

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

Nancy Holt, Mirrors of Light I [detail] (1974)
Installation view: Bykert Gallery, New York City, 1974
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 each

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

a closeup of a circular mirror, which reflects the back corner of a room with white walls and no windows

Nancy Holt, Mirrors of Light I [detail] (1974)
Installation view: Bykert Gallery, New York City, 1974
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 each

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

Nancy Holt, Mirrors of Light I (1974)
Installation view: Bykert Gallery, New York City, 1974
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 each

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

Holt's Mirrors of Light installed in a room

Nancy Holt, Mirrors of Light I (1974)
Installation view: Bykert Gallery, New York City, 1974
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 each

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

Nancy Holt, Mirrors of Light I (1974)
Installation view: Bykert Gallery, New York City, 1974
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 each

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

circular orbs of light reflected on two white walls of a room with no windows

Nancy Holt, Mirrors of Light I (1974)
Installation view: Bykert Gallery, New York City, 1974
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 each

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

Nancy Holt, Mirrors of Light I [detail] (1974)
Installation view: Bykert Gallery, New York City, 1974
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 each

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

a closeup of a line of circular mirrors hung on a white wall

Nancy Holt, Mirrors of Light I [detail] (1974)
Installation view: Bykert Gallery, New York City, 1974
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 each

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

Nancy Holt, Mirrors of Light I (1974)
Installation view: Dia:Chelsea, New York, 2018
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 each
Photograph: Bill Jacobson Studio, New York

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

Room with white walls and concrete floor. Light on right wall. 10 circular small mirrors on the back wall. Circular light reflections from the mirrors on the left wall.

Nancy Holt, Mirrors of Light I (1974)
Installation view: Dia:Chelsea, New York, 2018
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 each
Photograph: Bill Jacobson Studio, New York

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

Nancy Holt, Mirrors of Light I [detail] (1974)
Installation view: Dia:Chelsea, New York, 2018
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 each
Photograph: Bill Jacobson Studio, New York

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

Two white walls meeting a white ceiling with three small round mirrors on the right side and reflected circular light on the left side.

Nancy Holt, Mirrors of Light I [detail] (1974)
Installation view: Dia:Chelsea, New York, 2018
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 each
Photograph: Bill Jacobson Studio, New York

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

Installation view of Nancy Holt, Mirrors of Light I  (1974)
Dia:Chelsea, New York, 2018
Photograph: Don Stahl

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

Woman looking at small circular mirrors on wall as part of Mirrors of Light I.

Installation view of Nancy Holt, Mirrors of Light I  (1974)
Dia:Chelsea, New York, 2018
Photograph: Don Stahl

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

1973—1976

Mirrors of Light I

Nancy Holt
1974
Bykert Gallery, New York City
Ten mirrors, diameter 9 1/2 in. (24.1 cm); 650 watt quartz light
11 x 20 x 28 ft. (3.4 x 6.1 x 8.5 m)
© Holt/Smithson Foundation / Licensed by Artists Rights Society, New York

Featured in the Bykert Gallery in New York in 1974, ​Mirrors of Light I ​consists of a spotlight directed at a diagonal row of mirrors; the resulting refractions form ellipses of varying size and proportion that are projected across the gallery walls. Holt was interested in using light as a medium, while simultaneously examining it as subject matter in its own right. In this single gallery setting, light is a conceptual entity and a physical reality, a practical resource and an aesthetic object. As is the case with the majority of Holt’s oeuvre, ​Mirrors of Light I creates an opportunity for self-examination through the perceptions that arise in the face of her work.  

In 1974, Holt created Mirrors of Light II for the Walter Kelly Gallery in Chicago.  Both room-sized installations are unique works, and are presented in spaces the same size as their original showing.

Related Info

1973—1976
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
Mirrors of Light II
Nancy Holt
1974
1973—1976

Featured in the Walter Kelly Gallery in Chicago in 1974, ​Mirrors of Light II consists of a spotlight directed at a diagonal row of mirrors; the resulting refractions form ellipses of varying size and proportion that are projected across the gallery walls. Holt was interested in using light as a medium, while simultaneously examining it as subject matter in its own right. In this single gallery setting, light is a conceptual entity and a physical reality, a practical resource and an aesthetic object.

See Also