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Phyllida Barlow: PRANK - Public Art Fund
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City Hall Park
June 6 - November 26, 2023

About the Exhibition

Press Release

Phyllida Barlow (1944–2023, b. Newcastle, England) created PRANK, a new series of seven steel and fiberglass sculptures, for City Hall Park. Barlow based each sculpture on a familiar object that might be found at home or in an artist’s studio. The objects have been rotated, repeated, and stacked to create awkward, improbable structures. An oddly irregular white form first used by the artist in 1994, known as “rabbit ears,” appears on each angular steel assemblage.

PRANK was completed before Barlow’s untimely death in March 2023, and marks an important step as her first exhibition made with robust outdoor materials. At the same time, it returns to several longstanding themes and motifs. Variants of the comical “rabbit ears” defy gravity to scale stairs, grasp edges, and balance atop eccentric structures, as if performing. The title of each sculpture is a single evocative word: antic, hoax, jape, jinx, mimic, stunt, and truant. Together, they suggest an interest in the creative potential of disruption and rule breaking, a hallmark of Barlow’s art. Against such traditional sculptural values as balance, proportion, symmetry, and gravitas, her work offers absurdity, exuberance, vulnerability, and humor. In doing so, PRANK takes on the scale, materials and legacy of monumental outdoor sculpture and redefines it in Barlow’s own, indelibly human terms.

Phyllida Barlow: PRANK is curated by Public Art Fund Artistic & Executive Director Nicholas Baume with initial development by former Public Art Fund Curator Daniel S. Palmer.

About the Artist

Phyllida Barlow    View Profile

Phyllida Barlow (1944–2023, b. Newcastle, England) lived and worked in London. Influenced by the early 1960s New Generation Sculpture exhibitions at Whitechapel Gallery in London, Barlow began experimenting early in her career with the sculptural potential of materials unassociated with traditional sculpture. Prior to receiving exhibitions in major museums and galleries, Barlow utilized public and temporary spaces to show her work, developing her exploration of physical space and challenging conventional notions of where sculpture could exist. For 40 years, Barlow also worked as a teacher, fostering some of Britain’s most distinguished artists. Since 2009, she worked exclusively on her art practice and exhibited her work widely in the United Kingdom and internationally.

Barlow studied at Chelsea College of Art (1960–63) and the Slade School of Art (1963–66). She later taught at both schools and was Professor of Fine Art and Director of Undergraduate Studies at the latter until 2009. Major awards include receiving the Aachen Art Prize (2012) and being named a Royal Academician (2011). She has had major exhibitions at Royal Academy of the Arts, London (2019); Jupiter Artland, Edinburgh, Scotland (2018); Turner Contemporary, Margate, England (2017); Venice Biennale (2013, 2017); Nasher Sculpture Center, Dallas, TX (2015); Tate Britain, London (2014); and New Museum, New York (2012), among others. She was made a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire in the Queen’s Birthday Honors in 2021.

(as of 2023)

Installation Photos

A round rabbit-resembling white form balances atop a steel piano structure in a park with green foliage and a spouting fountain in the background.
A round rabbit-resembling white form balances atop a steel structure resembling stacked tables in a park, set against a city hall building.
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A round rabbit-resembling white form balances atop a steel structure resembling stacked chairs in a busy park.
A round rabbit-resembling white form balances atop a steel structure resembling stacked furniture in a green park.
A round rabbit-resembling white form balances atop a steel structure resembling stacked shelves, with high-rise buildings in the background.
A round rabbit-resembling white form balances atop a steel scaffolding structure in a park, with green foliage in the background. People sit on a bench in front...
A round rabbit-resembling white form balances atop a steel stair structure in a park surrounded by trees. Three onlookers snap a photo from the walkway.
A round rabbit-ear resembling white form balances atop a precarious looking steel structure, with a city building and foliage in the background.

Planning Phase Sketches and Paintings

A painting of a red, orange, and coral structure of stacked scaffolding surmounted by a rabbit-resembling form, set against a geometric yellow, blue and pink background.
A painting of a structure of stacked tables surmounted by a brown rabbit-resembling form, set against a pastel coral background.
A painting of a red, orange, and pink structure of stacked chairs surmounted by a red abstract rabbit-resembling form
A painting of a red, orange, turquoise, and coral structure of stacked infrastructure surmounted by a rabbit-resembling form, set against a periwinkle background.
A black and white drawing depicting a stack of lockers surmounted by a rabbit-resembling form.
4_Edited
A painting of a scaffolding structure surmounted by a rabbit-ear resembling red-orange form, set against a pale beige background.
A painting of a red, orange, and coral structure of stacked infrastructure surmounted by a rabbit-resembling form, set against a periwinkle background.
A black and white painting depicting a stack of tables surmounted by a rabbit-resembling form.
A painting of a red, orange, and coral structure of stacked infrastructure surmounted by a rabbit-resembling form, set against a bright turqoise background.
A painting of a red, orange, and coral structure of stacked infrastructure surmounted by a rabbit-resembling form, set against a periwinkle background.

Location

City Hall Park
City Hall Park

Leadership support for PRANK is provided by Ellen & Andrew Celli; Jennifer Sykes Harris; Hauser & Wirth; Andrea Krantz & Harvey Sawikin; Elizabeth Fearon Pepperman & Richard C. Pepperman II; Allison & Paul Russo; and Karen & Sam Seymour with major support from the Bronzini Vender Family and Linda Lennon & Stuart Baskin. Additional support is provided by Linda Genereux and Timur Galen. 

This project is supported in part by an award from the National Endowment for the Arts.

Special thanks to the Office of the Mayor, Office of the Manhattan Borough President, NYC Parks’ Art in the Parks program, and our engineering partner Silman.

Public Art Fund is supported by the generosity of individuals, corporations, and private foundations including lead support from Bloomberg Philanthropies, along with major support from Abrams Foundation, the Charina Endowment Fund, The Cowles Charitable Trust, the Joseph and Joan Cullman Foundation for the Arts, The Fuhrman Family Foundation, The Marc Haas Foundation, Hartfield Foundation, William Talbott Hillman Foundation- Affirmation Arts Fund, the Donald A. Pels Charitable Trust, Red Crane Foundation, The Silverweed Foundation, and Wagner Foundation.

Public Art Fund exhibitions and programs are also supported in part with public funds from government agencies, including the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature, and the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council.

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