Gary Hume, Back of a Snowman
October 8, 2002 - April 20, 2003

Back of a Snowman, by the celebrated British Painter, and now Sculptor, Gary Hume, is the second work in Art on the Plaza, Creative Time's multidisciplinary public sculpture series at The Ritz-Carlton New York, Battery Park. Back of a Snowman opens on October 8, 2002 and will remain on view through April 20, 2003.

Poised on the Plaza, where sweeping views of the New York Harbor are a stone's throw from the bustle of Wall Street, Back of a Snowman will contribute to Battery Park City's eclectic and formidable public sculpture collection, uplift and delight New Yorkers and vistors alike. Back of a Snowman is presented by Creative Time and The Ritz-Carlton New York, Battery Park, in cooperation with The Battery Park City Authority. The installation is the latest example of Creative Time's thirty-year history of invigorating New York City's public spaces with fresh artistic visions and illustrates Creative Time's fluid, diverse, and sometimes playful approach to promoting artistic practice.

Standing ten feet tall on the Plaza, Back of a Snowman bridges the fall, winter, and spring seasons, reminding us of how distant the natural environment can feel in an urban context. Its blunt silhouette and unadorned surface set against the sleek Hotel and skyline contrast the serrated glamour of the City. Back of a Snowman's bronze heft defies the ephemerallity of its implied medium, subtly coupling the permanent and temporary. The sculpture's dimpled white, enameled spheres convey an elegance reminiscent of modernist abstract sculpture as well as the humor and immediacy of Pop Art. But without coal, carrots, or a top hat, Hume's sculpture is a blank canvas, whose brightly reflective surface ignites our imaginations and memories.