David Smith

March Sentinel

The steel surface and geometric contours of March Sentinel may initially create the impression that it is an absolutely abstract composition. Upon engaging with the sculpture, however, its representational qualities begin to clarify. The work’s verticality cooperates with its distribution of shapes to confirm what the title suggests: Smith has evoked the form of a military guard.

The artist’s history as a welder of tanks and trains during World War II informed his sculptures, and he adapted harsh, military materials to human forms. The title implies soldiers marching, and at the same time, documents the date of the sculpture’s creation in the month of March. By using a burnishing technique that produces abraded marks on the work’s surface, Smiths recalls the brushwork of Abstract Expressionism.