Artnews

“The Defining Artworks of 2024”

By Emily Watlington
December 17, 2024

Antiseptic steel structures by men of yore dominate the Storm King Art Center’s sprawling sculpture park. Against these similar (and canonical) shapes, Arlene Shechet’s 2024 suite of sculptures “Girl Group” stands out with its playful organic shapes and poppy colors (lemon yellow and baby pink). Her forms are considered from every angle. The sculptures are heavy and huge, yet have a striking levity about them—light in color, floating in form.

What “Girl Group” makes visible is how digital fabrication is changing sculpture, unlocking new forms and methods of working. Shechet is not the first to use such tools, but the series’ lasting legacy will be the way she let her software transform everything about her shapes, emphasizing its role rather than trying to hide it: some curves, for instance, are left striated instead of smoothed out. And to top it all off, she created custom benches, inviting you to sit down and soak it all up.