Grenadier epitomises a defining moment for Laing’s minimalist sculpture, an exploration of the boundaries between flatness and three-dimensionality, between painting and sculpture. Its curved aluminium structure derives from Laing’s desire for a more intricate, flexible surface on which to paint, the application of colour mimicking the spray-painting of vehicles. In fact, following a disagreement with a local custom car workshop whom he had employed to perform spray painting jobs, Laing took matters into his own hands and built a spray booth in his loft.

Grenadier was first exhibited at the eponymous Richard Feigen Gallery, New York, and is a characteristic example of the clean minimalist lines that Laing became so well known for during the period, directly echoing the work of abstract artists Frank Stella and Ellsworth Kelly. Like much of Laing’s work, Grenadier is paradoxical: hand-crafted but with the appearance of being mass-produced.