The works selected for this category are clear and strong, both in their idea and their form. They are ‘essential’ because they refuse to compromise their self-evidence, their presence as man-made objects in built space. They are sure of their value. ‘This is it; this is Art’, seems to be their statement. The power of this statement is linked to the context where they were made, the US of the 1960s. The global dominance of the movements to which these works belong – Minimal Art, Conceptual Art – reflects the power of the Western world’s dominant nation.

Some of the works in this ensemble are shown in Antwerp, while others are exhibited in Eindhoven.