Continuing through July 24, 2017
Carl Andre creates works from unaltered building and industrial materials including bricks, metal squares, wooden blocks and concrete, fashioning them into large-scale geometric patterns and forms placed on gallery floors. Since the 1960s his modus operandi has been to use materials not usually associated with art, a radical decision at the time that has long since become commonplace. Though Andre the person remains mired in controversy (he was tried and acquitted for the death of his wife Ana Mendieta), his works remain powerful and engaging.
Minimalism was a groundbreaking movement and Andre's work is pivotal in that arena. He and other like-minded artists broke ground by presenting objects as artworks that occupied space in direct and challenging ways. The installation is quite beautiful, as each work has ample space that avoids blurring one piece with its neighbor. Some are even meant to be stepped upon. Juxtaposed with the sculptural works are Andre's text-based pieces (examples of his concrete and visual poetry) as well as smaller table-top sculptures that are presented in numerous vitrines.
