The Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth recently acquired a work by Wangechi Mutu titled The Seated III. The sculpture is a kneeling female figure, enshrined in bronze coils. The piece is larger than life, sizing up at around 7 feet, with extra long fingers and neck. She sits serenely by the Modern’s large reflecting pond.
The artist, Wangechi Mutu, was born in Nairobi, Kenya, and now spends her time between there and Brooklyn. In addition to sculptures and installations, Mutu works in paper or Mylar collage, combining images from medical and anthropological texts along with fashion magazines and pornography.
Her subject is often the many misrepresentations of women, especially black women. But here she’s drawing on the traditions of the classic Greek and African caryatid — sculpted female figures often representing divine women.
Wangechi Mutu, The Seated III, 2019. Bronze. 82 7/8 × 37 3/4 × 33 3/4 inches. Collection of the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth, The Friends of Art Endowment Fund and Museum purchase. © Wangechi Mutu Photograph by Evie Bishop
Mutu was commissioned to create four sculptures for New York City’s Metropolitan Museum of Art for its exhibition The NewOnes, will free Us.
The Seated III is one of the four works that features a powerful female figure. The work and its pair, The Seated I, occupied niches facing Fifth Avenue, along with another mirrored pair, The Seated II and The Seated IV. Two of the sculptures have entered The Met’s permanent collection, and The Seated III will soon take her place seated, overlooking the Modern’s reflecting pond.
Wangechi Mutu, The Seated III, 2019. Bronze. 82 7/8 × 37 3/4 × 33 3/4 inches. Collection of the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth, The Friends of Art Endowment Fund and Museum purchase. © Wangechi Mutu Photograph by Evie Bishop
Currently, the Modern is also displaying the exhibition “Mark Bradford: End Papers,” which is on view through January 10. To learn more about the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth, head to the website or follow the Modern on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
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