Poetical Economy
1959
Carl Andre's *Poetical Economy* exemplifies the artist's characteristically reductive approach to form and language, reducing visual and conceptual elements to their most essential components. The work reflects Andre's longstanding engagement with minimalist principles, exploring the tension between material presence and linguistic meaning. True to his practice, the piece invites viewers to consider how economy of means can itself become a poetic act.
- Location
- Phillips, Salt Lake City, UT
- Spotted At
- Auction House · PhillipsView on map
🔨 Auction Lot
20th Century & Contemporary Art Day Sale
May 17, 2017
Artists in conversation
Eugen Gomringer
Swiss/Bolivian · b. 1925
Gomringer is considered the father of concrete poetry and like Andre in Poetical Economy he reduces language to its most spare and geometric visual form, treating words as material objects arranged with austere precision on the page.
Lawrence Weiner
American · b. 1942
Weiner shares Andre's commitment to stripping conceptual art down to essential linguistic statements, using text as a primary medium with a monochromatic and intellectually austere quality that mirrors the reductive poetic economy of this work.
Robert Lax
American · b. 1915
Lax produced minimalist concrete poetry that arranged sparse words and syllables in geometric vertical columns, sharing with Andre an approach where economy of language becomes a meditative and visually abstract poetic act.
Start the Discussion
Request access to join the discussion