What We Fund
"Oomph" by Arlene Shechet
2020–2025 | New York, NY
Material: Cast bronze, paint
ABOUT THE ARTIST:
Arlene Shechet (b. New York) is a multidisciplinary sculptor based in New York City and the Hudson Valley. Known for her gravity-defying forms that seem to bend, tilt, and melt, Shechet creates works that appear to move while standing still — revealing the expressive power of material and form.
Oomph has openings, crevices and hollows that call for a closer investigation along the textured surface. This work originated from a hand-built life-size plaster sculpture that was later cast in bronze and then painted. The finished bronze luxuriates in shades of canary, yellow oxide, gold, confetti pink, and a pulsing sky blue. By enveloping Oomph with color, Shechet accentuates and undermines the undulating corporeal form.
Shechet’s work has been featured in major exhibitions, including All at Once (2015) at The Institute of Contemporary Art in Boston, which The New York Times called “some of the most imaginative American sculpture of the past 20 years.” Her work is held in prominent collections, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, The Centre Pompidou, and the Whitney Museum of American Art. Shechet is the first artist to return to the Poydras Corridor Sculpture Exhibition. Her work Tall Feather was installed from 2021 to 2024.