Nancy Holt Mirrors of Light II, 1974
Walter Kelly Gallery, Chicago, IL, USA
10 mirrors, diameter 9 1/2 in. (24.1 cm)
650 watt quartz light
Overall dimensions unknown
Photograph: John R. Bayalis
© Holt/Smithson Foundation / Licensed by Artists Rights Society, New York
Nancy Holt Mirrors of Light II, 1974
Walter Kelly Gallery, Chicago, IL, USA
10 mirrors, diameter 9 1/2 in. (24.1 cm)
650 watt quartz light
Overall dimensions unknown
Photograph: John R. Bayalis
© Holt/Smithson Foundation / Licensed by Artists Rights Society, New York
Nancy Holt Mirrors of Light II, 1974
Walter Kelly Gallery, Chicago, IL, USA
10 mirrors, diameter 9 1/2 in. (24.1 cm)
650 watt quartz light
Overall dimensions unknown
Photograph: John R. Bayalis
© Holt/Smithson Foundation / Licensed by Artists Rights Society, New York
Nancy Holt Mirrors of Light II, 1974
Walter Kelly Gallery, Chicago, IL, USA
10 mirrors, diameter 9 1/2 in. (24.1 cm)
650 watt quartz light
Overall dimensions unknown
Photograph: John R. Bayalis
© Holt/Smithson Foundation / Licensed by Artists Rights Society, New York
Nancy Holt Mirrors of Light II, 1974
Walter Kelly Gallery, Chicago, IL, USA
10 mirrors, diameter 9 1/2 in. (24.1 cm)
650 watt quartz light
Overall dimensions unknown
Photograph: John R. Bayalis
© Holt/Smithson Foundation / Licensed by Artists Rights Society, New York
Nancy Holt Mirrors of Light II, 1974
Walter Kelly Gallery, Chicago, IL, USA
10 mirrors, diameter 9 1/2 in. (24.1 cm)
650 watt quartz light
Overall dimensions unknown
Photograph: John R. Bayalis
© Holt/Smithson Foundation / Licensed by Artists Rights Society, New York
Nancy Holt with Mirrors of Light II at Walter Kelly Gallery, Chicago, Illinois, in 1974.
Photograph: John R. Bayalis
© Holt/Smithson Foundation / Licensed by Artists Rights Society, New York
Nancy Holt with Mirrors of Light II at Walter Kelly Gallery, Chicago, Illinois, in 1974.
Photograph: John R. Bayalis
© Holt/Smithson Foundation / Licensed by Artists Rights Society, New York
Nancy Holt, Mirrors of Light II (1974)
Installation view: Shadow and Light, New Mexico Museum of Art, Vladem Contemporary, September 29, 2023 – April 28, 2024
Ten mirrors, 650 watt quartz light
Mirrors: 9 1/2 in. (24.1 cm) diameter each
20 x 11 1/2 ft. (6.1 x 3.5 m)
Photograph by Tira Howard Photography
Courtesy New Mexico Museum of Art
© Holt/Smithson Foundation / Licensed by Artists Rights Society, New York
Nancy Holt, Mirrors of Light II (1974)
Installation view: Shadow and Light, New Mexico Museum of Art, Vladem Contemporary, September 29, 2023 – April 28, 2024
Ten mirrors, 650 watt quartz light
Mirrors: 9 1/2 in. (24.1 cm) diameter each
20 x 11 1/2 ft. (6.1 x 3.5 m)
Photograph by Tira Howard Photography
Courtesy New Mexico Museum of Art
© Holt/Smithson Foundation / Licensed by Artists Rights Society, New York
Nancy Holt, Mirrors of Light II (1974)
Installation view: Shadow and Light, New Mexico Museum of Art, Vladem Contemporary, September 29, 2023 – April 28, 2024
Ten mirrors, 650 watt quartz light
Mirrors: 9 1/2 in. (24.1 cm) diameter each
20 x 11 1/2 ft. (6.1 x 3.5 m)
Photograph by Tira Howard Photography
Courtesy New Mexico Museum of Art
© Holt/Smithson Foundation / Licensed by Artists Rights Society, New York
Nancy Holt, Mirrors of Light II (1974)
Installation view: Shadow and Light, New Mexico Museum of Art, Vladem Contemporary, September 29, 2023 – April 28, 2024
Ten mirrors, 650 watt quartz light
Mirrors: 9 1/2 in. (24.1 cm) diameter each
20 x 11 1/2 ft. (6.1 x 3.5 m)
Photograph by Tira Howard Photography
Courtesy New Mexico Museum of Art
© Holt/Smithson Foundation / Licensed by Artists Rights Society, New York
Installation view of Nancy Holt: MoonSunStarEarthSkyWater at Goodwood Art Foundation
April 2 – November 1, 2026
Showing still of Nancy Holt, Mirrors of Light II (1974)
Photograph Lucy Dawkins
Artwork © Holt/Smithson Foundation / Licensed by Artists Rights Society, New York
Installation view of Nancy Holt: MoonSunStarEarthSkyWater at Goodwood Art Foundation
April 2 – November 1, 2026
Showing still of Nancy Holt, Mirrors of Light II (1974)
Photograph Lucy Dawkins
Artwork © Holt/Smithson Foundation / Licensed by Artists Rights Society, New York
Installation view of Nancy Holt: MoonSunStarEarthSkyWater at Goodwood Art Foundation
April 2 – November 1, 2026
Showing Nancy Holt, Mirrors of Light II (1974)
Photograph Lucy Dawkins
Artwork © Holt/Smithson Foundation / Licensed by Artists Rights Society, New York
Installation view of Nancy Holt: MoonSunStarEarthSkyWater at Goodwood Art Foundation
April 2 – November 1, 2026
Showing Nancy Holt, Mirrors of Light II (1974)
Photograph Lucy Dawkins
Artwork © Holt/Smithson Foundation / Licensed by Artists Rights Society, New York
Installation view of Nancy Holt: MoonSunStarEarthSkyWater at Goodwood Art Foundation
April 2 – November 1, 2026
Showing Nancy Holt, Mirrors of Light II (1974)
Photograph Lucy Dawkins
Artwork © Holt/Smithson Foundation / Licensed by Artists Rights Society, New York
Installation view of Nancy Holt: MoonSunStarEarthSkyWater at Goodwood Art Foundation
April 2 – November 1, 2026
Showing Nancy Holt, Mirrors of Light II (1974)
Photograph Lucy Dawkins
Artwork © Holt/Smithson Foundation / Licensed by Artists Rights Society, New York
Installation view of Nancy Holt: MoonSunStarEarthSkyWater at Goodwood Art Foundation
April 2 – November 1, 2026
Showing Nancy Holt, Mirrors of Light II (1974)
Photograph Lucy Dawkins
Artwork © Holt/Smithson Foundation / Licensed by Artists Rights Society, New York
Installation view of Nancy Holt: MoonSunStarEarthSkyWater at Goodwood Art Foundation
April 2 – November 1, 2026
Showing Nancy Holt, Mirrors of Light II (1974)
Photograph Lucy Dawkins
Artwork © Holt/Smithson Foundation / Licensed by Artists Rights Society, New York
First presented at 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 reflections form ellipses of varying sizes and proportions, projected across the gallery walls.
Holt was interested in using light as a medium while simultaneously examining it as a subject in its own right. Here, light becomes both a conceptual entity and a physical reality, a practical resource and an aesthetic object. Mirrors of Light II invites viewers to examine their own perceptions through their encounter with the work.
Earlier in 1974 Holt presented Mirrors of Light I at Bykert Gallery in 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.
Holes of Light consists of a room bisected by a wall, which is perforated with eight circular holes arranged along a diagonal. Two lights are located on either side of the wall, and an alternating current switches between them so that one side of the room is dark and the other light.
