The Constructions were a concurrent continuation of the investigations Larry Bell began with the shaped paintings of the late ‘50s and early ‘60s. He found that the illusion of a volume had become a limitation for him, so he began to construct the volumes themselves. Composed variously of painted wood, metal and glass, these hard-edged objects stood away from the wall but still relied primarily on frontal viewing. These works led to Bell’s growing fascination with glass and his use of it as a primary material in the sculptures to come. As with the paintings, the constructions became increasingly minimal, until all that was left was the glass and the elemental form for which he is best known, the cube.