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John McCracken — Black Block
John McCracken — Black Block
John McCracken — Black Block
John McCracken — Black Block
John McCracken — Black Block
John McCracken — Black Block
John McCracken — Black Block
John McCracken

Black Block

1966

A pristine geometric form rendered in glossy black lacquer over fiberglass and plywood, this minimalist sculpture presents a rectangular block elevated against a neutral ground. The work's highly reflective surface catches and absorbs light, creating subtle tonal variations across its austere planes and emphasizing the immaculate finish characteristic of industrial production methods. McCracken's signature approach merges industrial materials with refined craftsmanship, positioning the work within the lineage of 1960s minimalism where elemental forms and material perfection became vehicles for aesthetic and phenomenological inquiry. The sculpture's commanding yet restrained presence invites contemplation of the relationship between object, space, and perception.

Medium
lacquer, fiberglass, plywood

Notes

Pure Edge: American Geometric Abstraction (Selected Works from MACBA Buenos Aires), Rago Auctions, 2026-05-01. Lot 113. Signed, titled and dated to underside ‘Black Block 1966 John McCracken’.

🔨 Auction Lot

Pure Edge: American Geometric Abstraction (Selected Works from MACBA Buenos Aires)

May 1, 2026

Estimate: $80,000$120,000

Lot 113

For Sale

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About this work

John McCracken, Black Block, 1966

A pristine geometric form rendered in glossy black lacquer over fiberglass and plywood, this minimalist sculpture presents a rectangular block elevated against a neutral ground. The work's highly reflective surface catches and absorbs light, creating subtle tonal variations across its austere planes and emphasizing the immaculate finish characteristic of industrial production methods. McCracken's signature approach merges industrial materials with refined craftsmanship, positioning the work within the lineage of 1960s minimalism where elemental forms and material perfection became vehicles for aesthetic and phenomenological inquiry. The sculpture's commanding yet restrained presence invites contemplation of the relationship between object, space, and perception.

Medium
lacquer, fiberglass, plywood
Year
1966
Seen at
Rago Auctions, Lambertville, United States

Related themes

Lacquer Finish, Abstract Art, Institutional Critique, Rectangular Form, Modernist Sculpture, Industrial Materials, Fiberglass, Contemporary Sculpture, Geometric Abstraction, Three Dimensional Form, Postwar American Art, Plywood, Monochromatic, Black Color, Phenomenological Art, Reflective Surface, Formal Composition, Minimalism, Sculptural Object, Material Perfection

More works by John McCracken

Collected by

Alex Capecelatro, Sharrissa Iqbal