Sculpture is one of the most difficult yet breathtaking art forms that exist, whether it hangs in museums or stands in the center of national park grounds. Artist Lauren Halsey is elevating the medium to the next level with her recent exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of Art‘s Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Roof Garden. The Los Angeles native’s newest installation, the eastside of south central los angeles hieroglyph prototype architecture (I)—purposefully uncapitalized—is a 22-foot-tall homage to the beauty of Egyptian history with an added twist of Afrofuturism and the New York City skyline as its backdrop. With this commission, which is open to the public through October 22, 2023, Halsey aims to show the connection between current Black culture in the United States and the days when pharaohs walked the earth. While you book your next ticket to the Met to experience Halsey’s master craftsmanship for yourself, here are four other large-scale sculptures from Black artists to capture your imagination.
The Bridge
The Bridge, Thornton Dial, 1997. Image: courtesy of The Atlanta Mayor’s Office of Cultural Affairs.
Southern sculptor Thornton Dial dedicated one of his most iconic works to Georgia politician and representative John Lewis. The piece commemorates Lewis’ lifelong fight for civil rights. It’s also the story of a community that pulled together to save their homes from becoming the sight of a potential highway. Dial’s structure, made from an assortment of found objects like old barrels, tires and metal, sits in Freedom Park in the city of Atlanta, Georgia.
The Embrace
The Embrace, Hank Willis Thomas, 2023. Image: courtesy of Embrace Boston.
Visitors and Boston locals were astounded and amazed when artist Hank Willis Thomas’ statue, The Embrace, was unveiled in downtown Boston early in 2023. The bronze sculpture, which stands 20 feet tall, was created in remembrance of civil rights champions Martin Luther King Jr. and Coretta Scott King. As Thomas’ installation was revealed in the Boston Commons, in the same location as the first historic anti-segregation march in 1965, the artist shared that he hopes the statue creates a sense of community and carries on the Kings’ legacy.
The Way The Moon’s in Love With the Dark
The Way the Moon’s in Love with the Dark, Fred Wilson, 2017. Image: courtesy Denver Art Museum.
Bronx-born artist Fred Wilson has enchanted audiences with his extravagant sculptures, especially his collection of glass creations that are simply called “Chandeliers.” His 2017 addition to the collection, The Way the Moon’s in Love with the Dark, originally created for the Pera Museum, now hangs in the newly renovated Denver Art Museum. The piece is an homage to many aspects of the culture and history of Istanbul, Turkey, and is named after a quote from the Russian poet Alexander Pushkin who had Black ancestry. Wilson’s massive chandeliers have been on display in multiple museums around the world, and the gorgeous structures will certainly leave a lasting impression on art enthusiasts.
Number 341
Number 341, ©Leonardo Drew, 2022. Image: Jon Cancro, courtesy of Goodman Gallery, Cape Town, Johannesburg, and London; Galerie Lelong & Co., New York and Paris; and Anthony Meier Fine Arts, San Francisco.
Cooper Union graduate Leonardo Drew has used his avant-garde creativity to bring massive, thought-provoking sculptures to life since the 1980s. One of his newest works, Number 341, was commissioned for Art Basel: Unlimited, Switzerland last year, the art festival’s distinctive platform for large-scale projects. The work is comprised of thousands of pieces of wood coated with paint and sand, creating a “dynamic explosion of texture and color,” according to an Art Basel statement, and is designed by Drew to make chaos legible. Viewers that get the chance to see Number 341 in person will undoubtedly be stunned and inspired by the artist’s innovation.
