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Carl Andre — Sixth Steel Corner
Carl Andre

Sixth Steel Corner

Sixth Steel Corner by Carl Andre exemplifies his signature approach of placing raw industrial materials directly on the floor, allowing the steel plates to occupy and define space without elevation or embellishment. The work invites viewers to engage with the fundamental physical properties of the material itself — its weight, texture, and reflective surface — stripped of any decorative or symbolic pretense. In reducing sculpture to its most essential elements, Andre challenges traditional notions of artistic craft and authorship, asking us to reconsider what constitutes art when cultural assumptions are deliberately set aside.

Medium
"What the idea of 'minimal art' means to me is that the person has drained and rid himself of the burden, the cultural over-burden that stands shadowing and eclipsing art. I think art is quite apart from that and you have to really rid yourself of those securities and certainties and assumptions and get down to something, which is closer and resembles some kind of blankness. Then one must construct again out of this reduced circumstance." Carl Andre

🔨 Auction Lot

20th Century & Contemporary Art Evening Sale

November 8, 2015

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About this work

Carl Andre, Sixth Steel Corner

Sixth Steel Corner by Carl Andre exemplifies his signature approach of placing raw industrial materials directly on the floor, allowing the steel plates to occupy and define space without elevation or embellishment. The work invites viewers to engage with the fundamental physical properties of the material itself — its weight, texture, and reflective surface — stripped of any decorative or symbolic pretense. In reducing sculpture to its most essential elements, Andre challenges traditional notions of artistic craft and authorship, asking us to reconsider what constitutes art when cultural assumptions are deliberately set aside.

Medium
"What the idea of 'minimal art' means to me is that the person has drained and rid himself of the burden, the cultural over-burden that stands shadowing and eclipsing art. I think art is quite apart from that and you have to really rid yourself of those securities and certainties and assumptions and get down to something, which is closer and resembles some kind of blankness. Then one must construct again out of this reduced circumstance." Carl Andre
Seen at
Phillips, New York, London, Hong Kong

Related themes

Steel, Abstract Art, 20th Century, Twentieth Century, Contemplative Mood, Site-Specific Art, Male Artist, Sculpture, Reductive Art, Geometric Form, Industrial Materials, American Artist, Site-Specific, Neutral Palette, Reductive Aesthetic, Neutral Tones, Minimalism

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