Executed in 1976, Pine Construction embodies H. C. Westermann’s dedication to woodwork and craft in an age that burgeoned with mechanized production. This harmonious sculpture appears at once minimal and figurative, as the cube and globe resemble a torso and head, and a wry insert of pine indicates a mouth with a seemingly Westermann-like grin. “The painstaking manner with which Westermann finishes his objects and his attention to the grain and color of the wood reflects his feelings of reverence for the beauty and individual character of his materials. He employs traditional construction methods such as dovetailed corners and doweled joints, and although he utilizes power tools, all filing and finishing are done by hand. This system of values in which uncompromising, utterly honest craftsmanship combines with strength and durability correlates to Westermann’s personal value structure.” (Barbara Haskell, H. C. Westermann, exh. cat., Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, 1978, pp.16-17.)

Westermann was self-taught in carpentry, and by the mid-1950s, he focused his artistic output almost entirely on sculpture. Although Pine Construction is a late sculpture by the artist, almost certainly constructed at his studio in Brookfield Center, Connecticut, the form and balance of the work hearkens back to the artist’s days as a professional acrobat and part of a two-man balancing act that toured Japan and China, and photographs of Westermann with his partner Wayne Uttley balancing on top of one another bear an uncanny resemblance to the form of this sculpture.