by: Alex Blanco

Dorothea Rockburne (b. 1932), now 93 years old, continues to redefine the boundaries of abstraction with a career that merges mathematics, astronomy, and art. Still actively working, Rockburne lives and works in New York, where her artistic practice thrives to this day.

Rockburne recently concluded a major exhibition in London at the Bernheim Gallery, titled The Light Shines in the Darkness and the Darkness Has Not Understood It (January 2025). Curated by Lola Kramer, this landmark show marked her first European survey, featuring over two dozen works from 1967 to 2013, many of which were displayed in Europe for the first time. By reconstituting her iconic series—from early experiments with wrinkle-finish paint to rigorously folded vellum works and luxuriant geometric paintings—the exhibition illuminated the evolution of her momentous and groundbreaking practice over nearly seven decades.

Les Pensées de Pascal, 1987-88, Oil, metal and gold leaf on linen

Born in Montreal, Canada, Rockburne’s fascination with mathematics began during her studies at the experimental Black Mountain College in the United States, where she moved to study. It was there that she discovered the profound connection between mathematics and nature,  that has shaped her lifelong approach to art. “When I’m working well and am totally focused, I feel as though the work is making itself,” she once said, a sentiment that underscores the precise yet organic nature of her practice. Drawing on mathematical concepts like set theory and the golden section, Rockburne transforms abstract ideas into visually compelling compositions that explore light, space, and topology.

Her groundbreaking series Drawing Which Makes Itself (1972–73) exemplifies her innovation, with site-specific pieces made by folding and manipulating paper, creating works that challenge traditional boundaries between medium and form. Similarly, Scalar (1971) reflects her fascination with materiality and mathematics. The work was inspired by her visit to ancient ruins in Peru, where she was struck by the way stacked-stone structures conveyed both weight and interdependent harmony—an experience that resonated with her studies of set theory. To achieve Scalar’s simultaneously luminescent and earthy texture, Rockburne used crude oil, an industrial material she favored largely because it was cheaper than paint. “It’s not only about huge stones,” she wrote at the time, “so much as it is about the experience of how these objects relate to particular intellectual inquiries: the decisions of mass and interstices, one never dominating the other.”

Left: Dorothea Rockburne. Neighbourhood. 1973. Transparentized paper, pencil, and colored pencil on wall, 406.4 x 228.6 cm. The Museum of Modern Art, New York. Gift of J. Frederic Byers III, 1978. | Right: Dorothea Rockburne. Scalar, Chipboard, crude oil, paper and nails, 1971

Another key work, Locus: Series of Six Relief Etchings and Aquatints on Folded Paper, first exhibited at the Museum of Modern Art in 1981, further demonstrates her commitment to mathematical precision. For this series, Rockburne folded each sheet of paper before running it through the press, creating creased lines that interacted with the printing process. The result was a dynamic interplay of raised lines, indented planes, and velvety-white sheens produced by aquatint. Like much of her work, Locus reveals her deep engagement with both the physical properties of materials and the intellectual structures that govern their arrangement.

Dorothea Rockburne, Locus, Series of six relief etching and aquatints on folded paper, May 5–Jul 5, 1981, MoMA, New York 

Rockburne’s meticulous practice was also profoundly influenced by her studies with mathematician Max Dehn in the 1950s, whose teachings inspired some of her most iconic works, such as the Golden Section Paintings (1974). These paintings explore the ancient mathematical ratio used to create harmonious proportions, connecting her work to centuries of artistic tradition.