Carl Andre, Giant of Minimalism, Dies at 88

Andre was a proponent of ice cold Minimalism, what he described as 'a sculpture free of human association'.

Carl Andre died on Wednesday 24 January, according to Paula Cooper Gallery, who represents the artist.

'Carl Andre redefined the parameters of sculpture and poetry through his use of unaltered industrial materials and innovative approach to language,' the gallery said in a statement. 'He created over 2,000 sculptures and an equal number of poems throughout his almost 70-year career, guided by a commitment to pure matter in lucid geometric arrangements.'

Born in Quincy, Massachusetts in 1935, Andre studied art at Phillips Academy in Andover from 1951 to 1953, where he befriended artist Frank Stella. A visit to Stonehenge in 1954 was pivotal to his decision to become a sculptor.

Andre rose to prominence in the 1960s with his piles of bricks and industrial-looking floor sculptures made in stone, metal, and wood. These logical, highly structured works were part of a broader rebuke to the free spiritedness of Abstract Expressionism.

While he is most associated with Minimalism, he preferred to call himself a 'matterist'.

In 2000, he told The Economist he wanted 'a sculpture free of human association, a sculpture which would allow matter to speak for itself.'

Writing about Andre's survey show at the Guggenheim in 1970, New York Times critic Peter Schjeldahl wrote, 'Andre is not much fun. Puritanically severe, his work rewards sensitive perusal with some nice surface effects and a certain feeling of unease.'

In 2014, nearly five decades later, another New York Times critic was more complimentary. Holland Cotter described him as 'an artist-poet of exceptional strength and invention.'

In 1985, Andre was arrested and charged with the death of his third wife, Cuban American artist Ana Mendieta, who fell from a window of their 34th-floor apartment in Greenwich Village. The Times noted that he had scratches on his nose and forearms, and that he made contradictory statements to the police.

In 1988, he was acquitted of a second-degree murder charge, but the scandal continued to impact his art career. He was called 'the OJ of the art world', and at one New York opening—according to The Guardian—more than 500 people showed up with placards asking 'Where is Ana Mendieta?'

Andre, who already had an ambivalent relationship with the art world, became more estranged from it following the murder.

When Richard Serra acknowledged he hadn't recognised Andre at an opening, Andre replied, 'I'm like Cuba. Nobody recognises me.' —[O]