this is quite an idea and while I tend not to be too interested in seeing a represented past, however I think of all the early “minimalist” shows this is one to see. The 1964 Green Gallery show was a coming out party of sorts for Flavin an artist who would repeatedly say, “… my own proposal has become mainly an indoor routine of placing strips of fluorescent light. It has been labeled sculpture by people who should know better.” However the past is easy to forget, the Green Gallery show of 1964 was poorly received and sparsely attended while at the same time canonized.
It’s been curious to note (and see) that the most groundbreaking piece of that show, The Nominal Three (to William of Okham) has been displayed in relative sizes over the years – but always shown in units totaling three (rather obvious, I know). One of the things about the earlier Flavin shows (I was lucky enough to see his exhibition at the Corcoran in the mid eighties) is how intensely spare the installation of the shows were. This is especially true if you look at the almost jewel like installation of his retrospective at the National Gallery a couple of years ago (even more so when the show was in Chicago).
Dan Flavin: the 1964 Green Gallery Exhibition is at Zwirner and Worth (32 E 69th street) through May 3rd.