Lockport is among the most distinguished of Lyman Kipp’s post-and-lintel assemblages. In post-and-lintel construction, an innovation devised by the ancient Greeks, a horizontal element rests above two supporting vertical elements. Inspired in part by the shadows of half-completed buildings at construction sites, Kipp first conceived his sculptures by manipulating small wood blocks. By the late 1970s he had begun to experiment with aluminum. Lockport’s aluminum surfaces are painted bright blue, reflecting the artist’s use of vibrant primary colors almost from the beginning of his career, as well as his interest in the relationship between color and form. 

Kipp’s commitment to large-scale sculpture led him to co-found ConStruct, a Chicago gallery that opened in 1978 and operated for ten years. Devoted to monumental sculpture, the space was collaboratively owned by its exhibiting artists—including Mark di Suvero and Kenneth Snelson, both of whom are represented in Storm King’s collection.