Exploring the recent sculptural innovations of prominent contemporary artist Carol Bove Carol
Bove: Collage Sculptures presents an extensive look into the contemporary artist's work over
the past five years and her ongoing exploration of scale color material and artistic
traditions of the twentieth century. Bove's recent work engages the conceptual concerns of
mid-century sculpture such as spontaneity industrial materials and the potential of painted
sculpture. However within this space of familiar sculptural traditions Bove has discovered
new approaches that lead to places previously unknown. Bove's collage sculptures are created
from scrap metal and stainless steel that has been carefully worked into sinuous forms and are
frequently painted. Considering the hard rigidity of the steel the works possess an appearance
of almost impossible softness as if steel could become as pliable as clay. Such works range
from small pedestal sculptures to large imposing compositions. Bove's interest in scale and
how a viewer's understanding of an artwork shifts depending on its context are explored through
a selection of small works from the collection of the Nasher Sculpture Center. Published by the
Nasher Sculpture Center the catalogue features beautiful reproductions of Bove's work and an
introduction as well as an essay by curator Catherine Craft on the development of the collage
sculptures and their relationship to other artists and traditions of modern sculpture. Also
included is an essay by Lisa Le Feuvre that explores Bove's complex work by means of a thematic
alphabet related to the artist's interests.
