Holt artworks in "All Light: Light and Space yesterday and today" at Kunsthalle Bielefeld

Light was a constant source of fascination for Nancy Holt throughout her four decades of artmaking. Whether drawn from the stars or powered by electricity, she approached light as a phenomenon, an idea, and a material in itself. Three of her pivotal works investigating the perceptual qualities of light are featured in All Light: Light and Space yesterday and today, on view until March 1, 2026 at Kunsthalle Bielefeld, Germany.

Dedicated to light as an artistic medium, the exhibition brings together historical and contemporary positions.  Holt’s Locator with Spotlight and Sunlight (1972), Dual Locators (1972), and Light and Shadow Photo-Drawings (1978) explore the ways light can become tangible. Her sculptures and photo series appear alongside works by Angela Bulloch, Mary Corse, Olafur Eliasson, Robert Irwin, Craig Kauffman, Mischa Kuball, Nicole Miller, Tatsuo Miyajima, and Helen Pashgian.

Nancy Holt, Light and Shadow Photo-Drawings [detail] (1978)
Twenty-two inkjet prints on archival rag paper from original 35mm transparencies
19½ × 30 in. (50 × 76 cm) each
Edition of 3 + 1AP
© Holt/Smithson Foundation / Licensed by Artists Rights Society, New York

Archived News

Nancy Holt's Starfire acquired by Powder Art Foundation

We are very pleased to share Nancy Holt’s 1986 sculpture "Starfire" has found a permanent home in the collection of Powder Art Foundation in Eden, Utah. Powder Art Foundation is an outdoor art museum that works closely with Dia Art Foundation. "Starfire" comprises eight pits arranged to mirror the Big Dipper constellation and the North Star. The flames create a terrestrial map of the night sky, bringing the energy of distant stars down to earth.

Casting a Glance: Dancing with Smithson

In 1968 Robert Smithson declared: “A great artist can make art by simply casting a glance.” On show until January 20, "Casting a Glance: Dancing with Smithson" at Marian Goodman Gallery Los Angeles takes him at his word and invites eighteen artists to join Smithson on the floor as partners who resist, improvise, and extend the rhythm of his thinking.

Holt's "Locators with Loci" on view in "Minimal" at the Bourse de Commerce

Nancy Holt's 1972 sculpture "Locators with Loci" is on view in the exhibition "Minimal" at the Bourse de Commerce, Paris until January 18, 2026. Curated by Jessica Morgan, Director of Dia Art Foundation, the exhibition traces the scope Minimal Arr through over a hundred works by some forty international artists.

Joan Jonas: An Island Departure at the Farnsworth Art Museum

"Joan Jonas: An Island Departure, with Nancy Holt and Robert Smithson"  is currently on show at the Farnsworth Art Museum in Rockland, Maine through to March 1, 2026. This special collaboration is part of our on-ongoing series of projects with artists working today.

Robert Smithson in Europe at Josef Albers Museum Quadrat Bottrop, Germany

"Robert Smithson in Europe" is currently on show at the Josef Albers Museum Quadrat Bottrop,  Germany, until February 22, 2026. The exhibition brings together Robert Smithson’s artistic production in the Netherlands, Italy, Great Britain, and Germany, with a special focus on North Rhine-Westphalia, the region local to the city of Bottrop. 

Susan Philipsz is the speaker for the 2025 Annual Lecture

Susan Philipsz was our speaker for the 2025 Holt/Smithson Foundation Annual Lecture. The fourth event in the ten-year series took place at the Kröller-Müller Museum, Otterlo in the Netherlands on Saturday October 11, 2025, and a recording can be viewed on our website.