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4 Blocks and Stones

Date1973

Maker Carl Andre American, 1935 - 2024

Label TextIn the opion of critic and poet Peter Schjeldahl, Andre has fine sculptural gifts that transcend his "draconian discipline of style" with its "endlessly repeating formats." Schjeldahl identifies "... a sense of the poetry of materials and an acute feeling for scale." Indeed, there is a blunt lyrical quality to Andre's simple juxtaposition of eight elements, four primoridal, four industrially manufactured. This piece is from a series entitled 144 Blocks and Stones, which was installed in 1973 at the Portland Center for the Visual Arts. The stones were collected by the artist in Oregon.

Object number84.181

ProvenanceThe artist; {possibly purchased directly from Portland Center for the Visual Arts by Drs. Joseph (1931-2019) and Elaine Monsen (1935-2014), Seattle, Washington, 1973}; to Seattle Art Museum, Seattle, Washington, 1984

Exhibition HistoryPortland, Oregon, Portland Center for the Visual Arts, 144 Blocks and Stones, Feb. 11 - Mar. 11, 1973. Seattle, Washington, Seattle Art Museum, Collection Highlights: 1945 to the Present, Sept. 12, 1996 - June 1, 1997.Published ReferencesBourdon, David. Carl Andre: Sculpture 1959-1977. Exh. Cat. New York: Jaap Rietman, Inc., 1978; pp. 35-36, reproduced p. 38. Carl Andre: Sculptures 1958-2011. Catalogue raisonné [CD-ROM]. Belgium, Brussels: Registry Carl Andre, 2011; cat. no. 1973-04, p. 78, reproduced.

Credit LineGift of Dr. R. Joseph Monsen and Dr. Elaine R. Monsen

DimensionsEach block: 11 1/2 x 11 3/4 x 2 5/16 in. (29.2 x 29.8 x 5.9cm) Width of stones: 8 1/8, 7, 2, 1 3/4 in.

MediumConcrete blocks, river stones, geological specimens