Canestoga 1965

Sven Lukin made Canestoga, this wall-mounted sculpture, and he clearly loved smooth surfaces and clean edges. Look at how the grey planes sit together, only interrupted by that thin teal line – it's all about precision. The sculpture's material quality is striking. The grey paint is matte and evenly applied, giving it a kind of industrial feel, almost like it was manufactured in a factory rather than crafted by hand. But then you see that orange outline snaking around the grey form, and it adds this playful, human touch. It makes me think of a road, or a river, flowing around these big, geometric shapes. It’s not just about what the piece looks like head-on; it’s about how it sits in space, how it casts shadows, and how it changes as you move around it. Lukin, like, say, Frank Stella, makes us rethink what a painting can be, pushing its boundaries. It’s a conversation about form, space, and color that keeps evolving.