Consider how 20th-century artists reimagined meaning through choice of materials and methods of constructing their sculpture. From bronze, plaster, and terracotta in more traditional figurative work to the radical use of found objects emerging from Dada and Cubism, artists expanded what sculpture could be. Using the new Rosamund Zander and Hansjörg Wyss Gallery of 20th-century sculpture as a source, look at works by artists from Pablo Picasso to Alexander Calder, Jean Arp to Max Ernst, and Louise Bourgeois to Simone Leigh. These artists’ diverse practices reveal how they pushed the boundaries of expression and transformed the ways in which we think about three-dimensional art making in the present.
Ian Alteveer, Beal Family Chair, Department of Contemporary Art, MFA
Yutong Shi, curatorial assistant, Department of Contemporary Art, MFA
Wednesday, March 18, 2026