Wall Drawing # 24 is a rare example in which Minimalist artist Sol LeWitt unites his two practices of wall drawing and sculpture. LeWitt’s wall drawings were conceived to be ephemeral—they are painted over at the end of an exhibition or installation and may be redrawn elsewhere. In contrast to most of LeWitt’s wall drawings, Wall Drawing # 24 was inscribed on four faces of a white-painted, four-by-four foot aluminum cube rather than on a wall. The finished work resembles one of the artist’s sculptures as well as the white walls of a gallery or museum. 

The drawing on the surface of the cube employs horizontal, vertical, and two types of diagonal lines rendered in graphite, which are organized in a series of squares. These overlapping permutations produce complex patterns. It is based on an artwork that LeWitt conceived for the groundbreaking catalogue/exhibition Xerox Book in 1968. He later installed the design directly on the wall at the Paula Cooper Gallery, where it became the artist’s first wall drawing. This version, which was created for his solo exhibition at Dwan Gallery in September 1969, was drawn by artist Adrian Piper (American, 1948). Wall Drawing # 24 shows an early moment in LeWitt’s wall drawing practice when he was experimenting with different approaches to the display and presentation of this new art form.

Label from Looking at Tomorrow: Light and Language from The Panza Collection, 1967–1990, October 24, 2015–February 7, 2016