LA sculptor Evan Holloway uses one of art history’s most iconic artworks, a 4.5 inch high fertility goddess from approximately 22-24,000 BC, as decorative inspiration for a huge, slender bronze ring in City Hall Park. The shifts between a tiny but fulsome female on a huge but slim ring are provocative and amusing; you’ll also get a rare glimpse of the sculpture’s back view. (Through December 13th).
Evan Holloway, ‘Willendorf Wheel,’ bronze, 2013.
One of the city’s best exhibitions of the moment isn’t in a gallery…the Public Art Fund’s exhibition ‘Lightness of Being’ at City Hall Park brings together an outstanding array of sculpture that surprises with its materials, sizes or concepts. This week, we’ll check it out, starting with this distorted tractor by Australian-American artist James Angus, which not only looks odd in its über urban environment, but is given another twist by digital distortions in the manufacturing process. (Through December 13th).
James Angus, ‘John Deere Model D,’ painted steel, painted cast iron, 2013.
The roughly cut blocks of Allyson Vieira’s sculptures resemble the caryatids of Greek architecture but in an updated, futuristic way. We enjoyed versions made with drywall at Laurel Gitlen Gallery on last March’s Lower East Side tour, but it’s perfect to see them outdoors in proximity to a Greek-style façade at Brooklyn’s Metro Tech Center. (Through Sept 16th).
Allyson Vieira, ‘Weight Bearing V, Weight Bearing VI, Weight Bearing VII,’ 2012.
Political corruption inspired these monumental sculptures by German artist Thomas Schutte, located at the southern corner of Central Park and Fifth Avenue. Tied together, the characters are unable to escape each other, though their construction on three stilt-like legs suggests that what precarious balance they do have is due to their fractious unity. (On view through August 25th. For more info, visit the Public Art Fund.)
Thomas Schutte, ‘United Enemies,’ bronze, 2011.
Monika Sosnowska’s ‘Fir Tree,’ a 40 foot tall steel sculpture currently located at the southeast entrance to Central Park is just a step beyond the park’s trees but is more in keeping with the solid, man-made structures surrounding the park. It belongs to neither world, however, and its lack of cheer and melted, post-disaster appearance lend it an ominous intrigue. (Through Feb 17th).
