Floor Stack 2008

Kate Carr made this sculpture, Floor Stack, from multiple sheets of wood. I can almost feel the repetitive, meditative process Carr employed, stacking and aligning those layers. It's like a minimalist landscape, or maybe a strange topographical map of a parallel world. The texture is so interesting. It looks smooth from a distance, but up close you can see each individual layer with its unique wood grain, creating a rhythmic pattern that draws you in. I'm thinking of Agnes Martin here, but without the colour. The pale wood, punctuated by the occasional strip of white, has a quiet, almost serene quality, like a muted Rothko. There's a real physicality to the piece, too. It sits squarely on the floor, declaring its presence, making you think about volume and weight. It's not trying to trick you or be something it's not, it just is. It makes you consider how art can be so simple, so clear, and still so engaging.