CVS, by Adam McEwen, is a work demonstrating the interplay between minimalist art and modern history. The work is a wall-sized graphite block, first presented at Gagosian Gallery during an exhibition called 11.11.11. The symmetry of the exhibition title directly referred to the symmetry of the works on display and the themes with which they engaged.

“I like it when you are forced into a moment when you’re not sure how something works. It’s the same with the graphite works I made. You look at it and think “What is that?” ⁱ
—Adam McEwen

Image: Douglas M. Parker Studio. Courtesy Gagosian.
Artwork: © 2023 Adam McEwen / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York

The minimalist composition of the work recreates a steel diamond floor plate, often seen on the doors inset into New York City sidewalks - a form of graphite representation McEwen had been known to experiment with previously. In 1994 McEwen created a drawing of a block and labeled it BLOCK OF GRAPHITE, but not until 2007 did he begin carving graphite sculptures utilizing industrial machinery. CVS demonstrates McEwen’s fascination with the materiality of artworks, and is a clever representation of the modern world through minimalism, utilizing industrial techniques to demonstrate the cold mechanical world we live in.

Adam McEwen, CVS, detail.

McEwen’s experimentation with graphite as an artistic medium is an innovative way to represent the contemporary world utilizing modern industrial methods. The material qualities of the artwork are fundamental to how McEwen utilizes the awareness of the everyday object and de-familiarizes it. For which recreating commercial metal doors from a material found in pencils is fine example. By employing such artistic methods, McEwen has secured himself a position on the frontier of innovation in contemporary art, and its active contributor worthy of close analysis and engagement.

ⁱhttps://www.sleek-mag.com/article/the-irrational-object-an-interview-with-adam-mcewen/
- Provenance
  Gagosian, Los Angeles
  Private Collection, New York
  Acquired from the above by the present owner
- Exhibited
  Los Angeles, Gagosian, Adam McEwen: 11.11.11, November 11–December 23, 2011