Photo © Arlene Shechet; Image courtesy of the artist
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Photo © Arlene Shechet; Image courtesy of the artist
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Gallery Text

Shechet embraces a range of materials in her sculptural practice. The biomorphic upper portion of Grammar is made out of hand-formed coils of clay. Its slightly slumping forms and lumpy protrusions rest on (and contrast with) the thin metal armature below, engaging us at our own scale—or as the artist puts it, “body to body.”Integral to the work, the pedestal refers to traditions of sculpture and painting: the hand-painted, fluted wooden base was inspired by an 1834 painting of a color wheel by Hudson River artist Thomas Cole. The bell-shaped form also resembles a skirt, its bright colors and subject matter in dialogue with the nearby German expressionist window, Woman with Animals. The skirt, too, suggests a femininity that is often pejoratively associated with the decorative arts, whose traditions Shechet enthusiastically embraces.

Identification and Creation

Object Number
2024.141
People
Arlene Shechet, American (New York, NY born 1951)
Title
Grammar
Classification
Sculpture
Work Type
sculpture
Date
2020
Culture
American
Persistent Link
https://hvrd.art/o/372971

Location

Location
Level 1, Room 1510, Modern and Contemporary Art, Disrupt the View: Arlene Shechet at the Harvard Art Museums
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Physical Descriptions

Medium
Glazed ceramic, steel, painted hardwood
Dimensions
overall: 176.5 × 50.8 × 50.8 cm (69 1/2 × 20 × 20 in.)
ceramic top: 76.2 × 48.3 × 50.8 cm (30 × 19 × 20 in.)
base: 100.3 × 50.8 × 50.8 cm (39 1/2 × 20 × 20 in.)
102 lb

Provenance

Recorded Ownership History
[Pace, New York], sold; to the Harvard Art Museums, 2024.

Acquisition and Rights

Credit Line
Harvard Art Museums/Fogg Museum, Gift of Leslie Cheek, Jr.
Copyright
© Arlene Shechet
Accession Year
2024
Object Number
2024.141
Division
Modern and Contemporary Art
Contact
am_moderncontemporary@harvard.edu
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Exhibition History

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Verification Level

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