NEW YORK, NY.- The New Museum presents a new sculpture by Tschabalala Self (b. 1990, Harlem, New York) created for the building’s facade. Self’s first large-scale public sculpture in New York is part of the New Museum’s longstanding Facade Sculpture Program made possible through the support of the Jacques and Natasha Gelman Foundation, and opens in tandem with the completion of the OMA-designed expansion of the New Museum on March 21, 2026.

Critically engaged in questions surrounding figuration, Tschabalala Self has built a singular style from the syncretic use of painting, printmaking, and sculpture to construct her subjects. Self, whose work was included in the New Museum’s 2017 exhibition Trigger: Gender as a Tool and a Weapon, traverses different artistic and craft traditions to explore questions of selfhood and human flourishing. Her work for the New Museum’s facade, entitled Art Lovers, depicts a romantic scene of a couple embracing, playfully nodding to the architectural “kiss point” where the SANAA-designed building meets the OMA-designed expansion. Installed on the exterior of the Museum’s third floor, Self’s work is visible down Bowery and Prince Street, offering viewers a contemporary portrait of New York City life and the personal connections enabled by public spaces like museums.

“As we celebrate the opening of the New Museum’s expanded campus on the Bowery, we are delighted that Tschabalala Self’s sculpture for the facade pays homage to the joining of our SANAA building with our new OMA-designed expansion,” said Lisa Phillips, Toby Devan Lewis Director of the New Museum.

“We are thrilled to collaborate again with Tschabalala Self, who has been a friend of the New Museum for many years. Her sculpture is like a giant lapel pin placed on our facade: an insignia of love that we are excited to share with New York and visitors from around the globe as we open our expanded museum,” said Massimiliano Gioni, Edlis Neeson Artistic Director of the New Museum.

Self's is the latest work to be created as part of the New Museum’s ongoing Facade Sculpture Program, inaugurated with the Museum’s opening on the Bowery in 2007. She follows artists Chris Burden, Isa Genzken, Glenn Ligon, and Ugo Rondinone, all of whom have presented large-scale sculptural works on the New Museum’s facade.

Tschabalala Self: Art Lovers is curated by Massimiliano Gioni, Edlis Neeson Artistic Director, and Madeline Weisburg, Assistant Curator.