Counter balance No. 2

Composed of three intersecting pieces of wood, the dynamic structure of Counter Balance No. 2 has energy shifting from each dimension in an elegant form suggestive of a swan. This sense of balance and movement was a key feature of many of Adams’ works. Compiler of Adams’ catalogue raisonné, Alastair Grieve writes that his Counter Balance sculptures are ‘the most extreme example of Adams’s delight in asymmetric balance’. [1] The extreme angles render the forms almost impossible, as they are carefully poised. In fact, Adams stated that ‘I can’t stand symmetry. For that reason I don’t like Mondrian and the kind of geometric, balanced art that he had been responsible for.’ [2] Grieve writes that this group of sculptures recall Adams’ interest in dance, comparing them to ballerinas in arabesque. [3] Adams had been particularly inspired by the avant-garde ballet of Kurt Jooss.

In the 1950s, Adams was exhibiting alongside the British constructivist artists such as Anthony Hill, Kenneth Martin, Mary Martin and Victor Pasmore, who made constructed works largely in Perspex or metal. Adams was unique amongst his peers in carving at this time. The artists asked critic Lawrence Alloway to write about their work for the exhibition Nine Abstract Artists. Alloway noted the distinction in Adams’ work, saying he ‘is exceptional among the younger sculptors in that he is not only an assembler (wire sculpture) and a modeller but also a carver’. [4] In his artist statement in Nine Abstract Artists, Adams wrote how in non-figurative art, ‘The idea, the conception, and the material are so closely related, that they must be inseparable and of equal importance’. [5] The three extended forms in Counter Balance No. 2 are emphasised by the grain of the wood, as the form follows its line. The grain of the mahogany is highlighted by the polished finish.

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