Frederica Wald Discusses Women Within the Arts and Carol Bove’s Addition to the Metropolitan Museum of Art

This month, the art community was fascinated to see the unveiling of Carol Bove’s newest piece, known as The Seances Aren’t Helping, at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The Metropolitan Museum of Art commissioned the piece to enhance the museum’s outer façade in an ongoing series designed to showcase different living artists. Frederica Wald, Head of Membership at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, is thrilled by the newest addition to the series and excited to have a prominent artist like Carol Bove celebrated at the MET. Today, Frederica Wald will discuss Carol Bove’s installation and the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s commitment to showcasing talented female artists.

A 2018 study of 820,000 American exhibits showed that only one-third of exhibits featured women artists. However, in the last three years, an increased number of female artists have been recognized throughout different genres and cultural institutions for their contributions to the arts. Female artists are paving the way for future artists and influencing different artistic mediums and genres. Within the field of sculpture, there is perhaps no other artist more well known than Carol Bove. Carol Bove is most well known for her large-scale sculptures and wide range of materials. Bove’s materials have included steel, concrete, driftwood, seashells, foam, and books in her previous work. She has explored different topics through her art, such as materiality and historical display, and framing strategies.

Carol Bove, a Brooklyn-based sculpture artist, has just unveiled her aluminum sculptures for the Metropolitan Museum’s outer façade. While delayed due to COVID-19, the installation was unveiled on March 1st and featured four large-scale sculptures made of sandblasted, bent stainless steel tubes and strategically placed aluminum disks. The pieces took several cranes and art riggers to install and assemble the sculptures properly. The sculptures’ modernist style clashes with the building’s outer design in a thoughtful way and asks observers to reconsider architecture and traditional building design.

When asked about the piece, Bove responded that she wanted to challenge the Beaux-art form of the building and portray an architectural revival. Carol Bove has previously been commissioned to create sculptures for Manhattan’s High Line walkway as well as the Swiss Pavilion, Palau’s de Tokyo in Paris, and the Kunsthalle Zurich. The façade commission will be available to view at the Metropolitan Museum of Art from March 1st through 2021’s fall season.