Auguste Rodin's "The Bronze Age"

Auguste Rodin's "The Bronze Age" is part of the permanent collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art that was cast in 1906. This piece was signed by Rodin. The lively modeling of the nude and its deceptively realistic appearance represented such a departure from the conventions of academic sculpture of the time that Rodin was accused of casting from a live model, a practice greatly frowned upon. (from the gallery caption).

Dama a Caballo V by Manolo Valdés

Dama a Caballo V is a unique bronze sculpture created by Spanish artist, Manolo Valdés in 2008. It has been installed in front of 900 Park Avenue and will be on view through 2014. Valdés’ iconic sculpture Dama a caballo V was inspired by the mid-seventeenth century equestrian portraits by Diego Velázquez, particularly that of Isabel de Borbón, the Queen of Spain from 1621-1644. The imagery of the equestrian portrait is a theme Valdés has recently begun addressing in both his three dimensional works and paintings. In this sculpture Valdés creates a roughly textured, unfinished appearance with the bronze, evoking the unrefined materials of “primitive” art, yet still manages to impart the regality of the subject. (Sculpture description from http://www.marlboroughgallery.com/news/monumental-valds-sculpture-to-be-installed-at-900-park-avenue)

Bryan Hunt's Sculptures Simulating Water On Park Avenue

Now on exhibit on Park Avenue between 52nd and 57th Streets are sculptures of Bryan Hunt. This is a retrospective of Hunt's cast bronze and aluminum water sculpture series. The exhibition continues through November 11, 2011.

From http://www.nycgovparks.org/art

Hunt’s ten-work survey of his Waterfall sculpture series will be the largest and most ambitious outdoor display of his work to date. This retrospective grouping, spanning from 1977 to 2006, brings the outdoor sculpture series, for which he is best known, together for the first time.

Bryan Hunt’s cast bronze and aluminum Waterfalls are the physical outcome of decades-long pursuit to capture water as a found object and sculptural element, frozen and abstracted from nature. His study of water allows him to explore sculptural casting processes as much as natural waterfall compositions. In the 1970s, Hunt became captivated by the sensuality of traditional sculpture by artists like Auguste Rodin, and was inspired to similarly mold and model his works, a deviation from the Minimalist trends of the time. Cast from models in chiseled plaster and wet clay, Hunt’s sculptures are made from molten metal which, as it hardens, simulates arrested water. His sculptural cascading forms give, in Hunt’s words, “liquid a tangible form”.

In 2006 Parks & Recreation unveiled Hunt’s permanent outdoor public sculpture entitled Coenties Ship, part of Hunt’s “airships” series. This twenty-one foot tall sculpture, fabricated from stainless steel and glass, is located at Coenties Slip Park in lower Manhattan. On behalf of the City and New York, he also designed commemorative pieces from World Trade Center steel later given to families of the victims of 9/11.

LOVE By Marisol (Marisol Escobar)

LOVE (1962) is a sculpture made of plaster and glass (Coca-Cola bottle) sculpture (6 1/4 x 4 1/8 x 8 1/8" (15.8 x 10.5 x 20.6 cm) created by Venezuelan artist, Marisol Escobar. This piece is now on view at the Museum of Modern Art. Marisol was born in France in 1930.

FIGURATIONS: Fashionably Nude Female Sculptures In The Fashion District's Broadway Plaza

Figurations: The Fashion District Pilings Project is a new exhibit on the Broadway Plazas in the Fashion District from 36th to 41st Street. Joan Benefiel created 30 translucent resin female nude sculptures that "provoke and encourage narrative interpretation." The glowing pieces are installed on tall wooden pilings. Although I think the figures are too small for the venue, they appear simultaneously confident and pensive, thoughtful and restless, carefree and precarious. They glow beautifully, the intensity dependent on the amount of light around them. The work was selected by the Fashion Center. The display continues through the end of August.

Joan Benefiel describes the work as follows: “The awkward beauty of these figures in this unlikely environment is symbolic of the balancing act we perform as we make our way in a challenging and changing world. And that includes making our way up and down the packed Broadway blocks in the summer sun. The figures simultaneously convey a sense of precariousness and joy.”

Figurengruppe (Group Of Figures)

German sculptor Katharina Fritsch created these lacquered bronze, copper and stainless steel figures called "Figurengruppe (Group of Figures)." These pieces were on display last May at the sculpture garden of the Museum of Modern Art.

Sol LeWitt:Structures, 1965-2006 Exhibition At the New York City Hall Park

Splotch 15, 2005

Incomplete Open Cubes, 1974

Three-Part Different Variations On Three Different Kinds of Cubes, 1967/74

Large Modular Cube, 1969

Complex Form 6, 1987

Three X Four X Three, 1984

Double Modular Cube, 1979

Pyramid (Munster), 1987

Tower (Columbus), 1990

One X Two Half Off, 1991

Sculptures created by artist Sol LeWitt are on exhibit at City Hall Park in downtown Manhattan through December 2, 2011. Most of the artworks in this Public Arts Fund project are shown above. 

From the Department of Parks and Recreation website:

Sol LeWitt:Structures, 1965-2006, the first outdoor career survey of Sol LeWitt’s sculptures—or “structures” as he called his three-dimensional works. The landmark exhibition will include 27 works from this seminal artist’s modular, serial, geometric, and irregular structures series that attest to his lifelong engagement with the medium and present his most important ideas about sculpture.

Just a few years after his death in 2007, Sol LeWitt remains one of our most significant and radical artists. He first found his artistic voice in his structures of the mid 1960s, giving rise to a career that would change the way we think about art. Spanning more than 40 years, this exhibition traces that evolution, revealing his remarkable and sustained artistic development.

Giant Yellow Teddy Bear Sculpture By Urs Fischer At Seagram Building Plaza On Park Avenue

The giant yellow 20-ton bronze teddy bear has been set up by Christie's outside the Seagram Building along Park Avenue. Created by New York-based Swiss artist, Urs Fischer, the enormous sculpture that has received mixed reviews, is getting auctioned off at Christie's next month. The black button-eyed, 23-foot-tall yellow teddy bear is "Untitled (Lamp/Bear)." The bear leans against a desk lamp which is lit at night. The sculpture has become a photo op for pedestrians and tourists. According to Christie's, the piece had been inspired by Fischer's own much-loved teddy bear. Fischer sewed together a one-foot tall teddy bear and scanned it with a 3-D laser to generate drawings to create the sculpture. The piece is the largest of 3 editions created in 2005/2006. The other two are privately owned. The Seagram Building is located at 375 Park Avenue, between 52nd and 53rd Streets in midtown Manhattan.