Walter De Maria

Walter De Maria

Walter De Maria was a multifaceted American artist whose work spanned a wide range of mediums and styles. He was born in 1935 in Albany, California, and began his artistic career as a musician, playing drums in a jazz band. However, he soon turned his attention to visual art, and in the 1960s became associated with the Minimalist movement, which sought to strip art down to its essential elements. De Maria's work was characterized by a fascination with space, time, and the natural world. He was particularly interested in the intersection of art and science, and often incorporated scientific principles and materials into his work. For example, his piece The Lightning Field consisted of 400 stainless steel poles arranged in a grid over an area of desert in New Mexico, designed to attract lightning strikes. In addition to his large-scale installations, De Maria also created smaller works that explored similar themes. For example, his Broken Kilometer consisted of 500 brass rods arranged in a grid, each measuring one kilometer in length, while The 360 Degree I Ching was a bronze sculpture that incorporated elements of the ancient Chinese divination system. Despite his success as an artist, De Maria was notoriously reclusive and rarely gave interviews or made public appearances. He passed away in 2013 at the age of 77, leaving behind a legacy of innovative and thought-provoking work.

Walter De Maria, American artist, Minimalist movement, space, time, natural world, art and science, large-scale installations, Broken Kilometer, The 360 Degree I Ching, reclusive, legacy

— David Harris

CITATION : "David Harris. 'Walter De Maria.' Design+Encyclopedia. https://design-encyclopedia.com/define/walter-de-maria?E=248411 (Accessed on October 14, 2026)"