The term “statuesque” suggests attributes of classical beauty, elegance, and proportion. The statue was, at one time, the model of artistic form. But the classical statue is now a historical style, evoking an earlier era. This exhibition of recent works by six international artists poses the question of what it means for a contemporary sculpture to be like a statue. How do today’s artists draw upon and reinvent this tradition?

Featuring artists born in England, Pakistan, Poland, and the United States, Statuesque brings these sculptors together as a group for the first time. Despite their highly individual styles, a number of shared characteristics also emerge. The exhibition signals a resurgence of interest in the human figure among young sculptors. At the same time, none of the artists work in a naturalistic style, preferring to reference the figure rather than to replicate it. They often use the materials of monumental sculpture, such as bronze, but in ways that retain a sense of spontaneity and even fragility. Their figurative forms are built or assembled by hand rather than cast from live models or appropriated from popular culture. Neither literal portraits nor traditional monuments, these sculptures embody the realms of myth, dream, and fantasy. Their artistic references range from Ancient Egyptian and African sculpture to works by Michelangelo, Rodin, and Picasso. By turns colossal, complex, dazzling, and confronting, their impact is visceral, charging one of art’s most traditional subjects with a renewed sense of expressive potential and contemporary relevance.

Nicholas Baume, Director & Chief Curator, Public Art Fund

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Sponsorship

Major support for Statuesque is provided by
Amalia Dayan and Adam Lindemann.

This installation is made possible through the cooperation of Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg; First Deputy Mayor Patricia E. Harris; Parks and Recreation Commissioner Adrian Benepe; and Cultural Affairs Commissioner Kate D. Levin.

Public Art Fund is a non-profit art organization supported by generous contributions from individuals, foundations, and corporations, and with funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs; New York State Council on the Arts, a state agency; and the National Endowment for the Arts.

Design: Linked by Air

About Public Art Fund

The Public Art Fund is New York’s leading presenter of artists’ projects, new commissions, and exhibitions in public spaces. For over 30 years the Public Art Fund has been committed to working with emerging and established artists to produce innovative exhibitions of contemporary art throughout New York City. By bringing artworks outside the traditional context of museums and galleries, the Public Art Fund provides a unique platform for an unparalleled public encounter with the art of our time.