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Two Women Artists Now Stand in Central London's Public Spaces

Hoi-Ling MakPublished 9m ago2 min readBased on 1 source
Two Women Artists Now Stand in Central London's Public Spaces
Photo by George Ciobra on Unsplash

A painted bronze sculpture of a woman in a vivid blue dress now stands on the Fourth Plinth in Trafalgar Square, London. The work, Lady in Blue, is by the American artist Tschabalala Self, according to The Art Newspaper.

The Fourth Plinth is a stone pedestal in the square, the home of a changing programme of contemporary sculpture since 1999. Each work stays for about two years. After that, Lady in Blue will move to a permanent home in Fornebu, a town in Norway.

Only a few blocks away, another new sculpture has gone up. Nicole Eisenman's Stack (2022-24) is installed outside the Royal Academy of Arts on Piccadilly. The work is more than eight metres tall and is made from bronze, oak, brass, steel, nylon, acrylic resin and tin.

Eisenman was shortlisted for the Fourth Plinth in 2021. Her finished piece is a tower of figures and objects, and it is busy. It includes a giant potato topped by a cat. The cat is modelled on Edie, Eisenman's studio companion. The whole stack is crowned by a seated figure of the late artist Phyllida Barlow.

Why does it matter that two women's works are in such prominent places? The charity Art UK says only 4% of public monuments in London are devoted to named women. That figure is one reason the placement of these works has drawn attention. Public statues shape which names passers-by see every day, and women have long been underrepresented among them.

For visitors, the change is easy to see. Trafalgar Square is one of the busiest spots in the capital, with tourists, office workers and protesters passing through daily. A sculpture on the Fourth Plinth is in view for everyone who walks past, with no ticket needed. Stack sits outside a working institution on Piccadilly, where the Royal Academy holds exhibitions and classes.

Both works are on public view now, and the Fourth Plinth placement runs for two years. The Royal Academy has not announced a set end date for Stack. Anyone heading to the square or to Piccadilly can see the two pieces in person.

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