Carol Bove, Venice Biennale 2017. Author: Carlos Jimenez, via Wikipedia
Carol Bove
Carol Bove (born 1971) is an American artist based in New York City, where she lives and works in Brooklyn. Born in Geneva, Switzerland, and raised in Berkeley, California, Bove moved to New York in 1993 and earned her Bachelor of Science degree from New York University in 2000. Her first major museum exhibition took place at Kunstverein Hamburg, Germany, in 2003. From 2009 to 2013, she served as a faculty member at NYU's Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development.
Renowned for her innovative use of found and constructed elements, Bove's work demonstrates a distinctive blend of formal, technical, and conceptual creativity. She is widely regarded as one of the leading contemporary artists, consistently redefining and expanding the boundaries of formal abstraction.
Bove’s diverse practice spans sculpture, installation, and drawing, utilizing a broad array of materials such as steel, concrete, books, driftwood, peacock feathers, seashells, and foam. Her work explores themes of materiality, reinterpreting and modernizing historical display techniques.
Carol Bove has exhibited at prestigious institutions, including The Museum of Modern Art, Palais de Tokyo, Kunsthalle Zürich, and represented Switzerland at the 57th Venice Biennale. Her works are held in major collections worldwide, such as the Whitney Museum of American Art, the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, and Colección Jumex.
Exploring contexts and materiality in art
Since the early 2000s, Carol Bove has focused on the relationship between artworks and their contexts, using materials such as found objects, industrial hardware, and architectural elements. Her poetic manipulation of materials has evolved into large-scale metal sculptures that build on modernist formalism while reexamining and expanding traditional art historical narratives.
Bove’s early assemblages often integrated cultural and philosophical references, combining books from the 1960s and ’70s with objects like stones, feathers, and driftwood to link eras and ideas. "When Attitudes Become Form" (2002) featured bookshelves stocked with publications on intellectual trends, while "Shrine to Eris" (2010) incorporated Hans Hofmann reproductions with peacock feathers. In "Setting for A. Pomodoro" (2014), she designed a baroque assemblage of driftwood and pedestals to display sculptures by Italian modernist Arnaldo Pomodoro, with each exhibition featuring a different Pomodoro piece. Bove has also included works by artists such as Bruce Conner and Wilfred Lang in her installations, as seen in a 2007 show at Maccarone.
Her practice ranges from early ink drawings of nudes sourced from vintage Playboy magazines to curated bookshelves and intricate installations. In 2016, after years in a studio in Red Hook, Brooklyn, she moved her practice to a former brick factory near the Brooklyn waterfront, a shift that reflects her continuing ambition to push the boundaries of form and context in her art.
Monumental public installations
Carol Bove is best known for her large-scale sculptures, which she describes as "big, heavy, but fragile." Her works are often displayed outdoors or in public spaces, emphasizing their interplay with the surrounding environment. Notable examples include "Lingam" (2015), a steel and petrified wood sculpture featured in the 2016 group exhibition "The Language of Things" at City Hall Park in New York, and "Caterpillar" (2013), a series of seven abstract sculptures created specifically for the High Line at the Rail Yards.
Bove has continued to explore monumental scale and spatial relationships. At Documenta 13 (2012), she presented four sculptures inspired by 18th-century mythological figures, strategically placed in the gardens of Kassel’s Orangerie to highlight the connection between Flora and Apollo. In 2020, she installed four sculptures on the Claremont McKenna College campus in California. Her work has also been featured in "Women of Venice" at the 57th Venice Biennale (2017), responding to Alberto Giacometti’s legacy, and in the Betty and Edward Marcus Sculpture Park at Laguna Gloria, The Contemporary Austin, that same year. At Unlimited during Art Basel 2018, Bove debuted a monumental sculpture, while pieces like "Aphorism" (2018) and "Bather" (2019) showcase her innovative use of crumpled stainless-steel tubing coated with urethane paint to create an illusion of malleability and lightness.
Notable collections and exhibition history
Since the late 1990s, Carol Bove has been the focus of numerous solo exhibitions at prestigious venues, including The Museum of Modern Art in New York and The Common Guild in Glasgow (both in 2013), Palais de Tokyo in Paris (2010), the Horticultural Society of New York (2009), the Blanton Museum of Art in Austin, Texas (2006), Kunsthalle Zürich, the Institute of Contemporary Art in Boston (both in 2004), and Kunstverein Hamburg (2003). In 2017, she represented Switzerland at the 57th Venice Biennale.
Her work has also been featured in prominent group exhibitions, such as Documenta 13 in Kassel, Germany (2012), the 54th Venice Biennale (2011), and the Whitney Biennial at the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York (2008). Additionally, her sculptures were showcased in the High Line exhibition "Caterpillar", one of the final opportunities to experience the site before its development.
From 2021 to 2022, the Nasher Sculpture Center in Dallas presented "Carol Bove: Collage Sculptures", the first major museum exhibition dedicated exclusively to Carol Bove’s steel sculptures. Her installation "The séances aren’t helping" (2021) was also featured as the second commission on the façade of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. In 2023, Bove co-curated and designed "Fragments of a Faith Forgotten: The Art of Harry Smith" at the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York. Additionally, she serves as the board chair at SculptureCenter in New York.
Bove’s art is held in the permanent collections of renowned institutions worldwide, including the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York, FRAC Nord-Pas de Calais in Dunkerque, France, Colección Jumex in Mexico City, the Institute of Contemporary Art in Boston, the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum and The Museum of Modern Art in New York, the Princeton University Art Museum in New Jersey, the Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art in Hartford, Connecticut, the Yale University Art Gallery in New Haven, Connecticut, and the Museum of Contemporary Art Helga de Alvear in Cáceres, Spain, among others.
FAQ
Who is Carol Bove and what is she known for?
Carol Bove is a famous artist known for her creative sculptures. She mixes different materials to make complex sculptures. Her work is thought-provoking and unique.
What is the influence of Bove's Swiss-American heritage on her artistic style?
Bove's background in Switzerland and California shapes her art. Her sculptures show a mix of elegance and tension. This reflects her cultural roots.
How does Bove's academic and artistic formation shape her assemblage style?
Bove's education and art journey have shaped her style. She focuses on space, minimalism, and changing surfaces. This makes her sculptures complex and interesting.
How did Bove's emergence in the New York art scene impact her career?
Bove's rise in New York's art scene was key. Her work highlights materiality and abstraction. She's now a top figure in sculpture.
What are the key elements of Bove's industrial elegance and materiality in her sculptures?
Bove's sculptures stand out for their material use and elegance. She focuses on space and minimalism. This creates complex and engaging assemblages.
How has Bove's sculptural language evolved over time?
Bove's style has changed a lot. She now focuses on abstraction and balance. Her sculptures are complex and thought-provoking.
What is the significance of Bove's monumental public installations?
Bove's big public sculptures show her skill in industrial elegance. They highlight her use of space and material. These works show her impact on public spaces.
What are some of Bove's notable collections and exhibition history?
Carol Bove has exhibited at prestigious institutions, including The Museum of Modern Art, Palais de Tokyo, Kunsthalle Zürich, and represented Switzerland at the 57th Venice Biennale. Her works are held in major collections worldwide, such as the Whitney Museum of American Art, the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, and Colección Jumex.
What is Bove's artistic philosophy and creative process?
Bove values industrial elegance, space, and minimalism in her art. Her sculptures reflect her unique vision. They are complex and thought-provoking.
What is Carol Bove's legacy and contemporary influence in modern sculpture?
Bove's impact on modern sculpture is huge. Her use of materiality and abstraction inspires others. She's a leading figure in the art world.
Selena Mattei
