Five Plates, Two Poles

1969

Jasper Johns's commission and a plate in the corner

Jasper Johns commissions a “Splash Piece” for his studio; while heating the lead plates, Serra sets one of the larger ones in the corner, where it stands on its own. It becomes a pivotal moment, soon followed by his break into space.

1969

First solo exhibition in the United States

At the Leo Castelli Warehouse in New York he exhibits ten lead “Prop Pieces”, a “Scatter Piece” and a “Splash Piece” dedicated to Eva Hesse.

1969

“Anti-Illusion” at the Whitney

His “Casting” is included in the exhibition “Anti-Illusion: Procedures/Materials” at the Whitney Museum of American Art: he again throws molten lead into the angle of floor and wall, pulls away the hardened casting and repeats the action, producing a series of free-standing forms.

1970

First solo museum exhibition

His first solo museum exhibition is held at the Pasadena Art Museum in Pasadena, California.

1970

The Zen gardens of Myoshin-ji in Kyoto

In Japan he spends most of his time studying the Zen gardens and temples of Myoshin-ji in Kyoto. The layout of the gardens reveals the landscape as a total field that can be experienced only by walking, and changes his way of seeing space in relation to time.

1970

A Guggenheim Fellowship and a trip to Japan

With a Guggenheim Fellowship he travels to Japan, where he installs his first outdoor sculptures, “To Encircle Base Plate (Hexagram)” and “Sugi Tree”, in Ueno Park as part of the Tokyo Biennale.