Robert Irwin’s Luminescence Shines In Berlin, With Light And Space (Kraftwerk Berlin)

Upon first impression, there are many aspects of the work that strike the eye: its size, no doubt, which when standing close by is staggeringly high; its color—fluorescent white on one side and cobalt blue on the other; and its position in the space itself, a multilevel industrial complex dominated by cast-concrete pillars, ceilings, and floors, with metal railings, pipes, and electrical conduits. Walking through the first lower hall, one walks past a series of enormous structural beams, and up a switchback staircase to the upper hall, with its soaring high ceiling that reaches more than twenty meters in height. This area is flanked by mezzanine-like spaces with suspended steel walkways: it is an architectural maze of sorts, and perfect fodder for Irwin’s piece to shine—both literally and metaphorically.