Studies for Sculptural Series: Identified, Classified, Catalogued

Together with Richard Serra and Eva Hesse, Barry Le Va belongs to a group of American sculptors who, in the late 1960s and 1970s, developed a form of art referred to as Process Art for its emphasis on the physical act of creation over the final result. In his early work Le Va typically scattered various materials across the floor in installations which, although seemingly haphazard, were based on a preconceived plan. Le Va, who trained as an architect before attending art school, works out his sculptural compositions in drawings such as these, which resemble architectural plans or diagrams. Since the early 1980s, his sculptures have incorporated geometric components such as spheres, cylinders, and plinths, which are signified here with precisely applied black ink, while irregular pencil lines suggest vectors of movement.