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Figures and Forms

Jul 13, 2024–Spring 2025

MoMA

The Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Sculpture Garden, May 2024. Photo: Jonathan Dorado. Shown: Lynda Benglis. Double Fountain, Mother and Child. 2007. Bronze, in two parts. The Museum of Modern Art, New York. Gift of the artist and the Fuhrman Family Foundation; Henri Matisse. The Back (I). Spring 1908–late 1909; The Back (II). 1911 (?)–early March or April 1913; The Back (III). May 13, 1913–early fall 1916; The Back (IV). c. 1931. Bronze. The Museum of Modern Art, New York. Mrs. Simon Guggenheim Fund. © 2024 Succession H. Matisse/Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
  • MoMA, Floor 1, Sculpture Garden The Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Sculpture Garden

Since its opening in 1939, the Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Sculpture Garden has served as a respite from the frenzy of Midtown Manhattan. It was established as an outdoor gallery for changing installations that unite nature, architecture, and art. In 1953 the Sculpture Garden was redesigned as a “roofless room” with four distinct, marble-paved areas for displaying sculpture alongside shallow pools, trees, and seasonal plants. Over the years, the Sculpture Garden has found other uses, including as a popular performance venue.

The current installation brings together a variety of works made across the 20th and 21st centuries by artists who abstract figures and forms. Making its debut in the Sculpture Garden is Simone Leigh’s Sentinel (2022), a monumental figure standing over 16 feet tall. It joins other works from the Museum’s collection, including Lynda Benglis’s Double Fountain, Mother and Child (2007), situated in one of the garden’s two pools, as well as imagined figures such as Joan Miró’s Moonbird (1966) and Wangechi Mutu’s MamaRay (2020).

Organized by the Department of Painting and Sculpture.

Support for the exhibition is provided by the Annual Exhibition Fund. Leadership contributions to the Annual Exhibition Fund, in support of the Museum’s collection and collection exhibitions, are generously provided by Jerry I. Speyer and Katherine G. Farley, Sue and Edgar Wachenheim III, the Sandra and Tony Tamer Exhibition Fund, the Kate W. Cassidy Foundation, Alice and Tom Tisch, the Marella and Giovanni Agnelli Fund for Exhibitions, The Contemporary Arts Council of The Museum of Modern Art, Eva and Glenn Dubin, Mimi Haas, The David Rockefeller Council, Anne and Joel Ehrenkranz, Kenneth C. Griffin, The International Council of The Museum of Modern Art, Marie-Josée and Henry R. Kravis, and Jo Carole and Ronald S. Lauder. Major funding is provided by The Sundheim Family Foundation.

Events

Artists

Installation images

How we identified these works

In 2018–19, MoMA collaborated with Google Arts & Culture Lab on a project using machine learning to identify artworks in installation photos. That project has concluded, and works are now being identified by MoMA staff.

If you notice an error, please contact us at [email protected].

Licensing

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