Henry Saxe’s sculpture has its roots in both Minimalist and Conceptualist practices. Three is a Number of One is one of five pieces from his Instrument Series. The piece reveals Saxe’s interest in aggressive materiality and the physical and mechanical forces that act on his assembled works.

Henry Saxe was born in Montreal in 1937. He attended the École des Beaux-Arts in Montreal and studied printmaking with Albert Dumouchel. He started his career as a draftsman, printmaker and painter, turning to sculpture in 1964. On moving to Tamworth, Ontario in 1973, Saxe built a spacious metal fabrication studio, which provided him with the necessary conditions to produce complex constructions. A senior Canadian artist, Saxe has enjoyed considerable acclaim through out his career. In 1993 he was honoured with a retrospective at the Musée d’art contemporain, Montreal. Saxe has also shown at the National Gallery of Canada, the Musée des Beaux Arts, the Art Gallery of Ontario, and the Canadian Cultural Centre, Paris. In 1978 Saxe was chosen along with Ron Martin to represent Canada at the Venice Biennale.