Markers, five cast concrete sculptures installed on the Oval Lawn of Madison Square Park.
These sculptures are both a bold departure from the artist’s characteristic use of wood as his primary medium and a natural evolution of the formal motifs and self-evident processes that have become synonymous with his work.
Since the mid-1970s, Kendrick’s method has involved slicing and gutting blocks of raw wood, then reconfiguring and reconstituting their interiors atop the shell of the block from which they originated. In Markers, Kendrick applies the same aesthetic and procedural methods to cast concrete, a new process and material for the artist. The black-and-white concrete is poured in layers, striations, and rippling surfaces which contain the fossil memory of previous action. Inspiration for the Markers varies widely, from the black-and-white marble found in Gothic Italian Cathedrals to the simplest methods of marking–placing one object on top of another. Their location in Madison Square Park also references the numerous monuments installed throughout the New York City park system.