Harvard Business School
The Business School is well-known for the significant collection of contemporary art that enlivens its corridors. With KCFA, the School sought to enrich its campus grounds with a complementary outdoor sculpture program. We identified sculpture as a visual means to convey the School's roots in tradition alongside constant innovation. KCFA coordinates loans of outdoor sculpture from primarily living artists for a rotating exhibition schedule. The art activates the grounds, creating an outdoor space to congregate rather than simply pass through.
1. Jaume Plensa, Ines, 2013. Photo Susan Young. Courtesy of the artist and Richard Gray Gallery ; 2. Yinka Shonibare CBE RA, Wind Sculpture (SG) V, 2019. Executive Education Lawn
Now in its seventh year, the current 2021-2022 exhibition pairs two bronze sculptures by Thaddeus Mosley with a large stainless steel sculpture by Melvin Edwards. The works explore the legacy of Modernist abstraction as it relates to cultural history and the natural environment. Also installed permanently on campus is the monumental Ines by Jaume Plensa, placed in the center of a circular quad. The Plensa's form encourages an exploration of space - it is only revealed over the course of a 360 degree perambulation. Yinka Shonibare's Wind Sculpture (SG) V joined the collection in 2021. Viewers using the footbridge that connects the Cambridge and Allston University campuses encounter Wind Sculpture's unfurled form as they enter the Business School's Olmstead-designed campus. With HBS, we select objects that generate conversation, and engage a business-minded campus with their space.
Harvard Magazine
Artful CampusNov 01, 2016