In The Shape of Shape, Amy Sillman—an artist who has helped redefine contemporary painting, pushing the medium into drawing, installations, video, and zines—has created a revelatory Artist’s Choice installation drawn from the Museum’s collection. “Even though shape is everywhere,” she reflected, “we don’t talk about it much; it’s not a hot topic in art, like color or systems. So I decided to look for works in MoMA’s collection in which shape does prevail over other considerations…. Often eccentric, poetic, or intimate, these works are like bodies that speak, operating at the hub of language and matter, signs and sensations.” The Shape of Shape features works that span vastly different time periods, places, and mediums, many rarely seen. Here, Sillman presents a highly personal exploration of shape—the ever-shifting boundaries that define what and how we see—in modern art.
This exhibition is included in our Virtual Views series. Hear directly from Amy Sillman and Michelle Kuo, the Marlene Hess Curator of Painting and Sculpture, during a live Q&A, and experience The Shape of Shape through a downloadable artist’s zine, video, installation views, and more.
Organized by Amy Sillman with Michelle Kuo, The Marlene Hess Curator, and Jenny Harris, Curatorial Assistant, Department of Painting and Sculpture.
