Recognized for his achievements in sculpture and installation art, Japanese artist Nobuo Sekine’s practice was rooted in an exploration of “phases” in topology, including abstract space, connectedness, and the preservation of properties. Sekine was a founding member of the art movement Mono-ha (もの派), translated as “School of Things,” an artist group that explored the relationship between natural and industrial materials. In Glenstone’s collection is Phase of Nothingness—Water, 1969, composed of two differently shaped steel containers—one cylindrical and one square—that hold an equal volume of water, displaying Sekine’s view that matter and space are infinitely malleable.

–Molly Megan, from the Glenstone Field Guide