Carol Bove
Carol Bove, 2019. Photo: Jason Schmidt. Courtesy of the artist and David Zwirner.
American artist Carol Bove (b. 1971) has made a monumental, site-specific work for Kistefos. The work is made from steel, the artist's favoured material of recent years, and is indicative of her signature form and style.
Bove’s work combines found objects, including old steel found on scrap heaps, and mass-produced, prefabricated steel that has been painstakingly manufactured. The result is large, tactile works that are both raw and fragile at the same time.
Sculpture’s Woman of Steel
The New York Times, 04.11.2016.
Artistically, Bove is part of a generation inspired by Bernar Venet (b. 1941), Anthony Caro (1924-2013), Richard Serra (b. 1938) and John Chamberlain (1927-2011) – elder gentlemen artists working with heavy monumental sculptures - traditionally a male-dominated form of expression. Bove places the materials at the centre of the work and process and lets them speak for themselves. She does not use preparatory sketches, even the large sculptures are created spontaneously and improvised, using cranes and hydraulics.
Bove was born in Switzerland and raised in Berkeley, California. She is a graduate of New York University and has had solo exhibitions at e.g. Kunsthalle Zürich, Palais de Tokyo in Paris, and Institute of Contemporary Art in Boston. In 2017, she represented Switzerland at the Venice Biennale. Bove is currently represented at The Metropolitan Museum of Art with four sculptures for The Facade Commission.
