October 2022 marks the beginning of Avant Arte’s public art programme – a moment at the crux of our mission to make art more accessible. On view close to London's emblematic King's Cross Station, a bronze sculpture by American artist Tschabalala Self will be encountered by thousands. On October 5 2022, Seated arrived in London.
Tschabalala Self
Across an expansive practice centred on textile paintings and stretching from fashion to theatre, Tschabalala Self asks what it means to have a body. In private, and in public. At rest, and in motion. Black bodies and femme bodies are particularly prominent in Self’s practice – many of them reimagined from chance encounters in Harlem and New York.
Tschabalala is renowned in a multitude of cultural contexts. From major museum shows to high fashion collaborations.
Taking a seat is a universal act of leisure and calm. I wanted to create a monumental sculpture for the public that spoke to this simple joy. The woman is strong, beautiful and self-possessed. She represents all individuals, but women in particular, who understand the power and importance of simple gestures that assert their right to take up space.
Tschabalala Self
Tschabalala travels to Spain to oversee the fabrication of her sculpture at Factum Arte in Madrid.
A series of plaster moulds will later be used to cast each component of the final artwork in bronze.
Standing 3 metres high, Seated uses an everyday object as an entry point for questions of permission and performance. Placing the work in a public place cements these ideas. For the artist, in its escape from domestic space the chair becomes a stage. Its sitter – poised, immaculately dressed, glancing to her left – emboldens onlookers to sit with confidence and comfort.
Seated will be on view in London’s Coal Drops Yard from October 5 until early 2023.
Accompanying editions
A pair of editions conceived and created alongside the sculpture enshrine it as a pivotal moment for Self's practice.
Tschabalala makes a final visit to Brand X, a world-renowned print studio in NYC.
Each silkscreen print from the edition of 12 is individually signed, dated and numbered.
Lady in Yellow on Spiral Seat #2 Teal Background
The first of two editions is based on the original reference work for Seated. Tschabalala worked closely with artisan printmakers to transform her original painting into a luminous 21-colour silkscreen in an updated palette of yellow and teal.
The final proof for Tschabalala's sculpture edition arrives at her studio in New Haven.
Cast in bronze and finished with a mottled Mezcla patina, no two are the same.
Seated Bronze
The second edition – 25 cast bronze sculptures, each with a unique surface patina – translates the form of its monumental namesake to a domestic scale. Both works will be available on Thursday October 13, exclusively on Avant Arte.
Credits
Studio film by Ojeras, New York
Tschabalala photographed in her New Haven studio by Christian DeFonte.
Tschabalala photographed at Brand X, NYC by Christian DeFonte.
Tschabalala photographed at Factum, Madrid by Oak Taylor-Smith
