Collections Detail – MAC Montréal

Artist: Carl Andre
Title: Neubrückwerk Düsseldorf gewidmet
Dimensions and medium: Red cedar, 122 × 823 × 30.5 cm (overall), 30.5 × 30.5 × 91.4 cm (each)
Artwork description: Carl Andre’s Neubrückwerk Düsseldorf gewidmet, part of the Element series produced in the 1960s and ‘70s, is composed of 19 identical segments of red cedar beams—the type often used in construction work—forming a vaguely architectural structure. Positioned in parallel or perpendicular to the gallery’s entrance, the sculpture immediately resembles a bridge or a road. The title refers to the context in which the piece was produced when it was presented at the Konrad Fischer Gallery in 1976, then located on the Neubrückstrasse, in Düsseldorf, Germany. Arranged according to mathematically determined structures, the segments agglomerate by pure juxtaposition and in a repetitive manner that suggests infinity. The work’s stability relies solely on the forces of gravity; each segment resting on the floor or against another, unattached. The interchangeability of the units, which can be replaced as needed, throws into question the notion of sculpture as a fixed and immutable entity. Measuring no more than 92 cm in height, the work follows the artist’s steadfast rule that no work should be taller than one meter. Its relationship to space is modified to favour horizontality, thereby eliminating any anthropomorphic references and their classical vertical expression.

Carl Andre