Peachy at The Met: ANTHONY CARO ON THE ROOF
Sculptures by Anthony Caro (b. 1924)—who is considered the most influential and prolific British sculptor of his generation, and a key figure in the development of modernist sculpture over the last 60 years—will be featured in The Metropolitan Museum of Art's 2011 installation on The Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Roof Garden, opening April 26. The installation will feature a selection of sculpture in steel, painted and unpainted, spanning the artist's career to date and highlighting principal aspects of his long career: engagement with form in space, dialogue between sculpture and architecture, and creation of new, abstract analogies for the human figure and landscape.
We think this is very minimalist compared to previous years where we have seen things to climb on and monstrous silver branches reminiscent of Snow White's forest, and also very industrial looking....in any event you cannot beat the roof of the Met. We like the yellow one best as it pops!
The exhibition is made possible by Bloomberg.
Additional support is provided by Cynthia Hazen Polsky and Leon B. Polsky.
"We are delighted to present the work of Anthony Caro, one of the leading sculptors of a generation that produced singularly great, monumental sculpture," commented Gary Tinterow, Engelhard Chairman of the Metropolitan Museum's Department of Nineteenth-Century, Modern, and Contemporary Art. "The first two installations of the Roof Garden in 1987 and 1988 featured his work, and it is a real pleasure to welcome him back. The elegance and wit of the unexpected, delicately colored forms will look marvelous silhouetted against the undulating green carpet of Central Park."
Anthony Caro earned an M.A. in engineering at Cambridge University, studied sculpture at the Royal Academy Schools in London, then worked as assistant to Henry Moore in the early 1950s. After his first visit to the United States in 1959, when he became acquainted with the work of painter Kenneth Noland and sculptor David Smith, he moved away from figurative art entirely. He made his first polychrome sculpture, Sculpture Seven, in 1961, and that same year exhibited the only sculpture (The Horse, 1961) in the New London Situation, an exhibition of "situation paintings" held at Marlborough New London Gallery. Caro came to public attention with an exhibition at the Whitechapel Gallery in 1963, where he exhibited large, abstract, steel sculptures brightly painted and standing directly on the ground, so that viewers could approach and interact with the works from all sides; this represented a radical departure from the way sculpture had been presented in the past and was described by the artist as an attempt "to make sculpture more real." Caro's innovative work was complemented by his teaching at St. Martin's School of Art in London from 1953 to 1981, where he influenced a younger generation of British abstract sculptors including Phillip King, Bruce McLean, Barry Flanagan, Richard Long, and Gilbert and George.
Caro often works in steel, but also in a diverse range of other materials, including bronze, silver, lead, stoneware, wood, and paper. Major exhibitions of his work have included retrospectives at the Museum of Modern Art, New York (1975), the Trajan Markets, Rome (1992), Museum of Contemporary Art, Tokyo (1995), Tate Britain, London (marking his 80th birthday in 2005), and three museums in Pas-de-Calais, France (2008), to accompany the opening of his Chapel of Light at Saint Jean-Baptiste Church in Bourbourg. He has been awarded many prizes, including the Praemium Imperiale for Sculpture in Tokyo in 1992 and the Lifetime Achievement Award for Sculpture in 1997. He holds many honorary degrees from universities in the United Kingdom, United States, and Europe. He was knighted in 1987 and received the Order of Merit from the Queen in May 2000.
Anthony Caro on the Roof is organized by Gary Tinterow, Engelhard Chairman, and Anne L. Strauss, Associate Curator, both of the Department of Nineteenth-Century, Modern, and Contemporary Art at The Metropolitan Museum of Art.
It will be featured on the Museum's website at www.metmuseum.org.
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An installation by Tomas Saraceno (Argentinean, b. 1973), rooted in the artist's inventive exploration of new ways of inhabiting our environment—drawing on principles of architecture and engineering, physics and chemistry, aeronautics, and the natural world, and inspired by eco-utopian visions for future sustainable communities—will be on view on the Cantor Roof Garden from April 24 through November 4, 2012.
The Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Roof Garden opened to the public in 1987. The past 13 annual installations have featured large-scale works by Ellsworth Kelly (1998), Magdalena Abakanowicz (1999), David Smith (2000), Joel Shapiro (2001), Claes Oldenburg and Coosje van Bruggen (2002), Roy Lichtenstein (2003), Andy Goldsworthy (2004), Sol LeWitt(2005), Cai Guo-Qiang (2006), Frank Stella (2007), Jeff Koons (2008), Roxy Paine (2009), and Doug and Mike Starn (2010).
Sandwiches, snacks, desserts, and beverage service—including espresso, cappuccino, iced tea, soft drinks, wine, and beer—will be available at the Roof Garden Café daily from 10 a.m. until closing, as weather permits. A martini bar will also be open on the Roof Garden on Friday and Saturday evenings (5:30-8 p.m.). And, we have our fingers crossed that they will be serving The Peachy Deegan made with Star Vodka!
BLOOMBERG SUPPORT OF ANTHONY CARO ON THE ROOF
Bloomberg is proud to be the corporate sponsor of the annual exhibitions on The Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Roof Garden. Bloomberg’s sponsorship has included Frank Stella on the Roof in 2007, Jeff Koons on the Roof in 2008, Roxy Paine on the Roof: Maelstrom in 2009, Doug + Mike Starn on the Roof: Big Bambú in 2010, and continues this year with Anthony Caro on the Roof, highlighting the long and distinguished career of Anthony Caro, a key figure in the development of modernist sculpture. Caro is known for his groundbreaking work creating dialogue between sculpture and architecture. His steel sculptures, set against The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Central Park, and the New York City skyline, offer a unique vantage point from which to experience New York. As a company committed to encouraging innovation in art and design, Bloomberg is proud to bring these dramatic abstract sculptures to the public. "We congratulate Sir Anthony Caro on the fiftieth anniversary of his first showing of steel sculpture, and there is no better setting for this occasion than the rooftop of the Met," said Lex Fenwick, CEO of Bloomberg Ventures. In addition to supporting exhibitions for The Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Roof Garden, Bloomberg is also proud to underwrite the Audio Guide program at the Metropolitan Museum
Bloomberg has a strong commitment to education and expanding access to art, science, and the humanities. A major supporter of museums and performing arts institutions worldwide, Bloomberg sponsors a wide range of educational and artistic initiatives to enlighten, engage, and educate. Bloomberg also underwrites audio tour programs at the Jewish Museum, the Museum of Modern Art in New York, and Tate Modern in London, and the new Explorer iPhone App at the American Museum of Natural History. The company has supported exhibitions at the Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum, El Museo del Barrio, the Jewish Museum, the Whitney Museum of American Art, and the Serpentine Gallery in London, as well as public art projects organized by the Public Art Fund throughout New York City.
Bloomberg, the global business and financial information and news leader, gives influential decision makers a critical edge by connecting them to a dynamic network of information, people, and ideas. The company’s strength – delivering data, news, and analytics through innovative technology, quickly and accurately – is at the core of the Bloomberg Professional service, which provides real time financial information to more than 300,000 subscribers globally. Bloomberg’s enterprise solutions build on the company’s core strength, leveraging technology to allow customers to access, integrate, distribute, and manage data and information across organizations more efficiently and effectively. Through Bloomberg Law, Bloomberg Government, and Bloomberg New Energy Finance, the company provides data, news and analytics to decision makers in industries beyond finance. And Bloomberg News, delivered through television, radio, mobile, the Internet, and two magazines, Bloomberg Businessweek and Bloomberg Markets, covers the world with more than 2,300 news and multimedia professionals at 146 bureaus in 72 countries. Headquartered in New York
