Installed in the museum's courtyard in July 2000, Richard Serra's three-part sculpture, 4-5-6 was created specifically for the Paul J. Schupf Sculpture Court and scaled to echo the museum walls that surround it. The title "4-5-6" comes from the 4'x5'x6' dimensions of the three identical, 30-ton masses, forged from solid COR-TEN© steel, a material that oxidizes naturally to weatherproof the sculpture and produce the warm color fundamental to the sculpture's aesthetic. Each of the block-shaped elements rests on a different face to create the illusion that they are different sizes. Serra collaborated with architect Frederick Fisher, designer of the museum's Lunder Wing, to transform the terrace into a sculpture court. Paul J. Schupf, a Colby trustee and donor of The Paul J. Schupf Wing for the Works of Alex Katz, gave the naming gift for the sculpture court.
Serra's work is rigorously abstract, aggressive in its demands upon the viewer, divested of narrative and illusion, and uncompromising in its physical presence. The sheer physicality of Serra's large-scale sculpture is an essential component of the viewer’s experience.
