Arlene Shechet pushes the boundaries of sculpture by combining diverse materials and challenging traditional ideas of balance, form, and structure. Created in 2018 and first presented as part of a solo exhibition at Madison Square Park in New York, Channel Liberty (with Fallen Arm) references the Statue of Liberty, whose original torch was displayed in the park from 1876 to 1882. The sculpture combines sand-cast iron, steel, and powder-coated cast aluminum. The sculpture features a long, skirt-like form that frames the pedestal, while an inverted sprue suggests a reimagined version of Liberty’s outstretched arm. Instead of holding a torch, the arm ends in a green, curved ornament inspired by Meissen porcelain.
Since she started working in clay in 2007, Shechet has expanded how ceramics are used in contemporary sculpture. Her interest in material processes and the history of porcelain led her to an artist residency at the Meissen porcelain factory in Germany from 2012 to 2013, where she explored 18th century traditions and the art style known as rococo. Her work demonstrates how porcelain, a material often associated with fragility, can be used in large-scale and structurally complex forms. In sculptures such as Channel Liberty (with Fallen Arm), she combines references to the human body with abstract forms, creating works that move between representation and abstraction.
About the Artist
Shechet was born in New York and currently works in the Hudson Valley. She graduated with a B.A. from New York University, and a M.F.A. from Rhode Island School of Design. She has received numerous prizes including the American Academy of Arts and Letters Lifetime Member (2023), CAA Artist Award for Distinguished Body of Work, and National Academy Induction (2016). Her artworks are included in the collections of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art; Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; and National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC. Solo exhibitions include at the Harvard Art Museums, Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston, and Frick Museum, New York, NY.
Featured Image Credit: Arlene Shechet (b. 1951 in New York, NY, lives and works in Hudson Valley, NY), Channel Liberty (with Fallen Arm), 2018, sand cast iron, hand-painted steel, powder-coated cast aluminum. Courtesy of Arlene Shechet and ARTZUID.