What two metals compose Carl Andre's 'Steel-Magnesium Plain'?

Carl Andre’s “Steel-Magnesium Plain” is composed of steel and magnesium.

The work exemplifies Andre’s use of industrial materials arranged directly on the floor. Rather than carving or modeling a traditional sculpture, Andre typically treated standardized units—such as metal plates, bricks, or wooden blocks—as elements in a measured arrangement. The viewer encounters the work as both an object and a defined place.

Andre’s material titles are deliberately plain and descriptive. “Steel-Magnesium Plain” identifies the two metals and emphasizes the work’s horizontal, planar character. The contrast between steel and magnesium is part of the piece’s visual and physical identity: the materials differ in color, surface, weight, and chemical properties.

Andre became a leading figure in 1960s Minimalism, although his work is distinct from the freestanding boxes associated with Donald Judd. His floor pieces ask viewers to notice scale, spacing, gravity, and the architecture beneath their feet. “Plain” does not mean empty; it refers to a field or surface built from repeated material units.