Sol LeWitt was of the opinion that ‘if one wishes to understand the art of our time one must go beyond appearance’. 123454321 has a restrained and calculated beauty which stems from the purity of mathematical principles: not only an abstract human concept but fundamental to natural creation.

The minimal and pared down appearance of 123454321 reflects the influence of the cube on LeWitt’s practice and his belief that the ideas of an artist are more important than physical works of art. Each of the series of blocks is in the proportion 1:1:2. This ratio forms the sequence for the whole structure and is typical of LeWitt’s use of simple numerical systems and serial progressions.