Modular constructivism is a style of sculpture that emerged in the 1950s and 1960s, associated especially with the Yale-trained sculptors Erwin Hauer and Norman Carlberg. Its works are built from carefully structured modules whose combinatorial possibilities are studied intensively, allowing intricate - sometimes infinite - patterns of repetition. The results range from planar, screen-like formations to fully multidimensional structures with a seamless, quasi-organic unity. Hauer's studies of biomorphic 'saddle surfaces', which fuse convex and concave curvature so units can combine smoothly in every direction, were central; Henry Moore's fluid, porous sculpture was another inspiration. Both artists were students of Josef Albers, and the approach carried an implicit formalism and minimalism that held aloof from Pop Art and postmodernism. Hauer's studio adapted the style to light-diffusing architectural screens and walls.
Defining characteristics
- Repeated, precisely structured modules combined into larger patterns of intricate, sometimes infinite repetition
- Seamless, quasi-organic unity: rounded and self-enclosed, or open and potentially infinite
- Fluidly curving 'saddle surfaces' that fuse convex and concave curvature
- Planar screen-like formations or fully multidimensional structures
- Undulating, tissue-like webbing pierced by apertures that transmit and filter light
- Delicate shadow patterns cast across the surface; strict formalism, with narrative stripped away
Key figures
- Erwin Hauer (1926-2017) — Austrian-born American sculptor, early proponent of the style and maker of light-diffusing screens
- Norman Carlberg (1928-2018) — American sculptor and exemplar of modular constructivism, later director of sculpture at MICA
- Josef Albers (1888-1976) — Yale teacher whose formalist rigor shaped both sculptors
Example works
- Winter Wind — Norman Carlberg (n.d.)
Sources
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