Installed in the shared studio space of Nancy Holt and Robert Smithson's New York City loft, Locator (Studio Corner) is one of the earliest Locator works that Holt created, is one of the earliest Locator works Holt created, and the first to engage solely with interior space. In contrast to other early Locator works that Holt created in her studio—which concentrated vision on preexisting details in the built environment outside her studio window—Locator (Studio Corner) focuses vision on a black Locus Holt painted in the corner of the room. When looking through the Locator, the painted shape transforms into a perfect circle with a halo of light surrounding it, flattening three-dimensional space and reframing the viewer’s understanding of the shape on the wall.

The image of Locator (Studio Corner) above provides a glimpse into Holt and Smithson's life together in their shared New York City loft. On the walls are images of earthworks Smithson had recently completed: Broken Circle / Spiral Hill (left) and a poster of Spiral Jetty (right) featuring a photograph taken by Gianfranco Gorgoni. On the floor to the left of the Locator is one of Smithson's Slate Grind sculptures (1973) . Snaking through the image on the right is a work from Nancy Holt’s personal collection: Five Steel Run (1970) by Carl Andre.