Overview

• Robert Wilson died in New York on July 31 at age 83 after a brief illness, the Watermill Center announced.
• He pioneered silent, minimalist performances that redefined experimental theater and opera by centering visual composition and space over scripted text.
• His 1970 work Deafman Glance and his 1976 collaboration with Philip Glass, Einstein on the Beach, became milestones in avant-garde stagecraft.
• In 1992, Wilson founded the Watermill Center as a hub for interdisciplinary collaboration in performance, architecture and visual art.
• The Watermill Center said he continued creating until the end and plans to honor his legacy with retrospective exhibitions and commemorative events at key venues.