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Description: CARL ANDRE (b. 1935)
Aluminum-Zinc Plain
aluminum and zinc, 36-unit square (6 x 6), 18 plates of each metal alternating
each: 3/8 by 12 by 12in. 1 by 30.5 by 30.5cm.
overall: 3/8 by 72 by 72in. 1 by 182.9 by 182.9cm.
Executed in New York in 1969, this sculpture is accompanied by a certificate of authenticity signed by the artist and dated January 16, 93, the date he amended the certificate to correct the date of execution.
PROVENANCE
Annina Nosei Gallery, New York
Saatchi Collection, London
Gagosian Gallery, New York
Private Collection, Laguna Beach
New York, Sotheby's, November 10, 1993, lot 26
Acquired by the present owner from the above
EXHIBITED
New York, The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum; St. Louis Museum of Art, Carl Andre, September 1970-June 1971 (as part of 37 Pieces of Work), cat. no. 32, pl. 32, p. 56, illustrated in color
London, Whitechapel Art Gallery, Carl Andre: Sculpture, 1959-1978, March-April 1978, cat. no. 14, illustrated on preface page and twice on subsequent pages (installation view)
LITERATURE
Angela Westwater, Carl Andre Sculpture 1958-1974, Bern, 1975, p. 47, no. 34
David Bourdon, Carl Andre: Sculpture 1959-1977, Laguna Gloria Art Museum, Austin, 1978, p. 33, illustrated (installation view of 37 Pieces of Work at the Guggenheim Museum)
Peter Schjeldahl, Art of Our Time: The Saatchi Collection, Volume 1, London and New York, 1984, pl. 5, illustrated in color
Rita Sartorius, ed., Carl Andre, Haags Gemeentemuseum, The Hague; Eindhoven, Stedelijk Van Abbemuseum, 1987, p. 42, no. 1969.55
Eva Meyer-Hermann, Carl Andre Sculptor 1996, Museen Haus Lange & Haus Esters Krefeld, Kunstmuseum Wolfsburg, 1996, pp. 176, 248, 262 and p. 177, illustrated (installation view of 37 Pieces of Work at the Guggenheim Museum)
Aluminum-Zinc Plain was one of thirty-six component parts of 37 Pieces of Work, conceived by Andre for his one-man show at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in 1970. Each of the 36 components was an independent 6 x 6 unit 'plain', consisting of two alternating metals. The grouping of 36 'plains' became the 37th square, hence the title of the work as it was installed in the lobby of the Guggenheim rotunda. As you ascended the circular ramp, the interplay of alternating metals (matte versus shiny, light versus heavy) became dramatically apparent. After the exhibition, 37 Pieces of Work again became 36 autonomous 'plains'.