NEW YORK.- SculptureCenter presents Make It Now: New Sculpture in New York, a survey exhibition of recent sculpture by New York-based artists, from May 15 – July 31, 2005. Resulting from extensive research and over two hundred studio visits, this exhibition identifies specific new directions in sculpture today. This current generation of artists is locating new currency in art historical styles and aesthetic conventions, from the Baroque to minimalism, from the Classical to Pop. Revisiting traditional forms, these artists use a broad range of materials with invention and provocation and share a practical idealism about art’s ability to address belief, politics, identity and human nature.

While acknowledging the elastic language of sculpture by incorporating photography, video, installation, painting, and performance, the exhibition highlights the prevalence of object making in New York today. Including works by 28 artists and artist teams, Make It Now features both familiar names as well as artists at the very beginnings of their careers. The exhibition is installed throughout SculptureCenter’s outdoor and indoor spaces and, focuses on art produced within the last year. Most of the works are created specifically for the exhibition and none have previously been seen in New York. A 100-page catalog including a curatorial essay, color installation images, and artist pages will be available in July 2005.

Artists in the exhibition include Frank Benson, Nicole Cherubini, Andrea Cohen, Charlie Foos, Luis Gispert, Guyton/Walker, Dave Hardy, Rachel Harrison, Leslie Hewitt, Klara Hobza, Jessica Jackson Hutchins, Nancy Hwang, Gareth James, Vincent Mazeau, Corey McCorkle, Robert Melee, Navin June Norling, Ester Partegàs, Seth Price, Matthew Ronay, Bryan Savitz, SOL’SAX, Jean Shin, Gedi Sibony, Lisa Sigal, Roberto Visani, Phoebe Washburn, and Fritz Welch.

Make It Now: New Sculpture in New York is organized by a curatorial team comprised of SculptureCenter Director Mary Ceruti; SculptureCenter Curator Anthony Huberman; and independent curator and critic Franklin Sirmans. An ambitious calendar of programming organized in conjunction with Make It Now opens a public dialogue around the ideas addressed by the exhibition and translates its curatorial premise into other fields. Make Conversation Now (5.21.05) presents an invited art historian, a critic, and an established New York artist in a discussion with one of the show’s curators. Inspired by the attention given to history and long-term memories by the artists in the exhibition, Make History Now (6.2.05 and 6.25.05) features the exhibiting artists describing a historical sculptural moment that matters to them most. Make Music Now (7.15.05 and 7.22.05), a live music series held at Galapagos Art Space in Brooklyn, pursues the show’s theme of finding contemporary currency in traditional styles by featuring musicians who incorporate melody and song-structures into contemporary experimental music. Make It Now is made possible by a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts and the generous support of Jeanne Donovan Fisher, the Peter Norton Family Foundation, Martha and Paul Leitner, the Tin Man Fund, and Nancy Berman.