Collection View: Louise Nevelson

Jillian Russo | The Brooklyn Rail | 1st June 2025

Nevelson gravitated to a branch of sculpture that has surrealist tinges – junk-assemblage sculpture. Her favoured material, wood and especially wood boxes, could be easily found on New York streets. One major work comprised 40 stacked boxes, each one a mini stage to be filled with “ornate bed posts, antique chair legs, picture frames, banister railings … “ and all painted black. Such works, she explained, were an ode to New York city, “the greatest collage in the world.”. A video (30 sec) is here.