The original version of Helixikos Number 3 was conceived and executed in wood; after the original sustained substantial damage, the piece was re-created in bronze. Hans Hokanson’s training as a carpenter influenced his early sculptural techniques; he carved from tree trunks and stumps found at Northwest Creek, near his home in East Hampton, on New York’s Long Island. The tactile, rippled surface of Helixikos Number 3, with its centrifugally curved, ribbon-like forms, is characteristic of Hokanson’s early forays into three-dimensional work. The sculpture is abstract, but has a decorative quality that is further enhanced by the grooved surface pattern produced by the carving tool. The work’s title contains in it the word “helix,” a coiled, twirled, or twisted shape that aptly describes the sculpture’s form.