Le Va pushed the boundaries of sculpture beyond the pedestal by using unconventional and industrial materials and distributing them by dropping, throwing, blowing, slashing or crushing them in the space. He highlights the tension between chaos and order with works which contain both premeditated elements and outcomes produced by chance. Like Le Va’s scattered felt-based works, the Layered Pattern Acts (conceived between 1968 and 1971) are meticulously diagrammed in advance and then realized spontaneously on-site. In this work, for example, sheets of glass are geometrically stacked to accentuate the relationship between the corners and edges of these planes. The stacks are then smashed with a hammer, creating shards that expand outward and endure as evidence of a destructive action. These arrangements juxtapose hardness and softness, fixity and motion, spilling out of view in a vast horizontal sprawl. The randomness of the resulting cracks and shards contrasts with the angular edges of the glass, while situational and environmental variables result in a unique, site-specific installation.
So at first glance, Le Va’s installations – whether of waves of blown-out chalk, discordant piles of strewn felt and scattered ball bearings, or sheets of broken glass – may appear chaotic in form. As the artist explained, these dispersions are the “residue of an activity, a result of cause and effect, and the handling of tangible materials.” They are remnants of the kind of sculptural acts that define Postminimalism such as cutting, throwing, and dropping, and are distributed over large areas, compelling the viewer to physically move throughout the gallery. Despite their visual disorder, Le Va’s installations are actually meticulously mapped on paper prior to their placement on the ground. The artist studied architecture before he turned his attention to the visual arts, and the question of how space is organized and produced informs nearly every aspect of his work.
