As mentioned in Lot 73, born at Six Nations in 1950, David M. General is a Haudenosaunee sculptor whose practice moves between figuration and abstraction. Initially self-taught as a woodcarver, he became especially accomplished in stone, creating works shaped by transformation, spiritual vitality, and the forces of the natural world.

In Woman Dancing, General reduces the figure to a tall, tapering form animated by sweeping curves and pierced openings. The larger recessed passage suggests the turn of a body or the flare of a garment in motion, while the smaller opening above lightens the sculpture’s ascent. Seen from different angles, broad planes narrow into edges and solid surfaces give way to cavities.

As Norma Dinniwell, observed of General’s work, “the play of line leading into the void becomes important,” while the openings “add an element of mystery” [1]. Here, those voids help transform the dense stone into an image of movement, balance, and dance.