Carl Andre

Minneapolis, Locksley Shea Gallery, Carl Andre, 1971
New York, Sperone Westwater Fischer, Carl Andre, 1978
Hamburg, Kunsthalle Hamburg, extended loan, 1994
Krefeld, Haus Lange und Haus Esters Krefeld; Wolfsburg, Kunstmuseum Wolsburg, Carl Andre: Sculptor, February - April 1996, cat. no. 8, pp. 80-81, illustrated in color
London, Tate Gallery; Tübingen, Kunsthalle; Stuttgart, Staatsgalerie & Württembergischer Kunstverein; Hamburg, Deichtorhallen & Hamburger Kunsthalle; Vienna, Bank Austria Kunstforum, Sammlungsblöcke: Stiftung Froehlich, May 1996 - May 1997, cat. no. 1, p. 135, illustrated
Berlin, Martin-Gropius-Bau, Die Epoche der Moderne - Kunst im 20. Jahrhundent, 1997, cat. no. 183, illustrated
Karlsruhe, Museum für Neue Kunst, Minimal Art aus den privaten Sammlungen, March - April 2001, p. 29, illustrated

Exh. Cat., Bern, Kunsthalle Bern, Carl Andre: Sculpture 1958 - 1974, 1975, p. 15 (incorrectly titled Post and Threshold (Element Series))
Exh. Cat., Eindhoven, Stedelijk van Abbemuseum, Carl Andre: Wood, 1978, cat. no. 48, illustrated
Exh. Cat., Eindhoven, Stedelijk van Abbemuseum; Den Haag, Haags Gemeentemuseum, Carl Andre, 1987, cat. no. 1960-7, pp. 12-13, illustrated
Exh. Cat., London, Tate Gallery, The Froehlich Foundation. German and American Art from Beuys and Warhol, 1996
Exh. Cat., Wolfsburg, Kunstmuseum Wolfsburg, Gesammelte Werke 1. Zeitgenössische Kunst seit 1968, 1999, cat. no. 4, p. 22, illustrated

Carl Andre’s earliest sculptural material was wood and he initially  carved or sawed in the classical manner of creating form from a solid. The early carved wooden sculptures of 1959-1960 were inspired by the bases created by Constantin Brancusi for his sculptures, but soon Andre proceeded to find his own aesthetic voice. In recalling this period, Andre has said, ``Up to a certain time I was cutting into things. Then I realized that the thing I was cutting was the cut. Rather than cut into the material, I now use the material as the cut in space.’’ (David Bourdon, Carl Andre: Sculpture 1959-1977, New York, 1978, p. 19).

The Element series, to which Posts on Threshold belongs, was the first body of work proposed by Andre in light of his new principles. The ``proposals’’ existed as drawings on graph paper, until they were realized for an exhibition at the Gordon Locksley Gallery in Minnepolis in 1971. In this series, Andre ``was interested in the various combinations that can be made from timbers 1 x 1 foot in section and 3 feet in length, without additional fastenings in the shape of pegs, screws, or glue. The theme here is that of the `elementary’ building functions, such as supporting, loadbearing, and resting. In Posts on Threshold, the threshold not only forms the base of the sculpture but also gives its measure: the 1:3 ratio is visually apparent because the two vertical units, together with the space between them, add up to the length of the unit on which they stand.’’ (Exh. Cat., Krefeld, Haus Lange und Haus Esters Krefeld and Wolfsburg, Kunstmuseum Wolfsburg, Carl Andre: Sculptor, 1996, p. 80)