Past Exhibition

Abigail DeVille: Light of Freedom

October 27, 2020 – January 31, 2021

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Past Exhibition

Abigail DeVille: Light of Freedom

October 27, 2020 – January 31, 2021

Play Audio Tour

A response to history and the present, Abigail DeVille’s Light of Freedom reflects the despair and the exultation of the pandemic, protests, and political turmoil of 2020. DeVille answers the question of how public art can respond in civic space to this turbulent period. Her work carries cogent symbols. She fills a torch — referring to the Statue of Liberty’s hand holding a torch which was on view in Madison Square Park from 1876 to 1882 — with a timeworn bell, a herald of freedom, and with the arms of mannequins, reaching to viewers. A golden scaffold summons the glory of labor and the hope that struggle can lead to change. Formative to Light of Freedom are the words of the abolitionist, author, and statesman Frederick Douglass, who proclaimed in 1857: “If there is no struggle there is no progress.”

DeVille uses public space to explore overlooked narratives. She mines untold histories for her subject matter. DeVille described her process: “In my research, I have found that the first Blacks to be brought to New York City were eleven Angolans in 1626. … Unfortunately, history has erased the contributions and victories of this group. I want to make something that could honor their lives and question what it means to be a New Yorker, past, present, and future.”

About the artist

Abigail DeVille (American, b. 1981) was born in New York and works in the Bronx. She received a BFA from the Fashion Institute of Technology (2007), attended Skowhegan School of Painting & Sculpture (2007), and received an MFA from Yale University (2011).

DeVille participated in residencies at the International Studio & Curatorial Program in Brooklyn (2012), at the Studio Museum in Harlem (2013–14), The Radcliffe Institute for Advance Study Fellowship (2014–15), with the Robert Rauschenberg Foundation on Captiva Island (2017), and at the American Academy in Rome (Rome Prize; 2017–18).She has received awards from the Joan Mitchell Foundation, the Edward and Sally Van Lier Fund of New York Community Trust, Creative Capital, United States Artists, and the Louis Comfort Tiffany Foundation. DeVille teaches in the Interdisciplinary Sculpture Department at Maryland Institute College of Art and at the Yale School of Art (spring 2021). She has exhibited at the Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis; the Institute of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles; the New Museum, New York; and the Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam. Light of Freedom was selected by an international jury as one of the best public art projects of 2020 by the design and fabrication firm, UAP.

Read more about the artist
Exhibition Catalogue

Abigail DeVille: Light of Freedom

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Press Release

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About the artist

Abigail DeVille (American, b. 1981) was born in New York and works in the Bronx. She received a BFA from the Fashion Institute of Technology (2007), attended Skowhegan School of Painting & Sculpture (2007), and received an MFA from Yale University (2011).

DeVille participated in residencies at the International Studio & Curatorial Program in Brooklyn (2012), at the Studio Museum in Harlem (2013–14), The Radcliffe Institute for Advance Study Fellowship (2014–15), with the Robert Rauschenberg Foundation on Captiva Island (2017), and at the American Academy in Rome (Rome Prize; 2017–18).She has received awards from the Joan Mitchell Foundation, the Edward and Sally Van Lier Fund of New York Community Trust, Creative Capital, United States Artists, and the Louis Comfort Tiffany Foundation. DeVille teaches in the Interdisciplinary Sculpture Department at Maryland Institute College of Art and at the Yale School of Art (spring 2021). She has exhibited at the Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis; the Institute of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles; the New Museum, New York; and the Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam. Light of Freedom was selected by an international jury as one of the best public art projects of 2020 by the design and fabrication firm, UAP.

Read more about the artist

A response to history and the present, Abigail DeVille’s Light of Freedom reflects the despair and the exultation of the pandemic, protests, and political turmoil of 2020. DeVille answers the question of how public art can respond in civic space to this turbulent period. Her work carries cogent symbols. She fills a torch — referring to the Statue of Liberty’s hand holding a torch which was on view in Madison Square Park from 1876 to 1882 — with a timeworn bell, a herald of freedom, and with the arms of mannequins, reaching to viewers. A golden scaffold summons the glory of labor and the hope that struggle can lead to change. Formative to Light of Freedom are the words of the abolitionist, author, and statesman Frederick Douglass, who proclaimed in 1857: “If there is no struggle there is no progress.”

DeVille uses public space to explore overlooked narratives. She mines untold histories for her subject matter. DeVille described her process: “In my research, I have found that the first Blacks to be brought to New York City were eleven Angolans in 1626. … Unfortunately, history has erased the contributions and victories of this group. I want to make something that could honor their lives and question what it means to be a New Yorker, past, present, and future.”

About the artist

Abigail DeVille (American, b. 1981) was born in New York and works in the Bronx. She received a BFA from the Fashion Institute of Technology (2007), attended Skowhegan School of Painting & Sculpture (2007), and received an MFA from Yale University (2011).

DeVille participated in residencies at the International Studio & Curatorial Program in Brooklyn (2012), at the Studio Museum in Harlem (2013–14), The Radcliffe Institute for Advance Study Fellowship (2014–15), with the Robert Rauschenberg Foundation on Captiva Island (2017), and at the American Academy in Rome (Rome Prize; 2017–18).She has received awards from the Joan Mitchell Foundation, the Edward and Sally Van Lier Fund of New York Community Trust, Creative Capital, United States Artists, and the Louis Comfort Tiffany Foundation. DeVille teaches in the Interdisciplinary Sculpture Department at Maryland Institute College of Art and at the Yale School of Art (spring 2021). She has exhibited at the Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis; the Institute of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles; the New Museum, New York; and the Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam. Light of Freedom was selected by an international jury as one of the best public art projects of 2020 by the design and fabrication firm, UAP.

Read more about the artist
Exhibition Catalogue

Abigail DeVille: Light of Freedom

Download PDF

Download PDF
Press Release

Download PDF

Download PDF
About the artist

Abigail DeVille (American, b. 1981) was born in New York and works in the Bronx. She received a BFA from the Fashion Institute of Technology (2007), attended Skowhegan School of Painting & Sculpture (2007), and received an MFA from Yale University (2011).

DeVille participated in residencies at the International Studio & Curatorial Program in Brooklyn (2012), at the Studio Museum in Harlem (2013–14), The Radcliffe Institute for Advance Study Fellowship (2014–15), with the Robert Rauschenberg Foundation on Captiva Island (2017), and at the American Academy in Rome (Rome Prize; 2017–18).She has received awards from the Joan Mitchell Foundation, the Edward and Sally Van Lier Fund of New York Community Trust, Creative Capital, United States Artists, and the Louis Comfort Tiffany Foundation. DeVille teaches in the Interdisciplinary Sculpture Department at Maryland Institute College of Art and at the Yale School of Art (spring 2021). She has exhibited at the Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis; the Institute of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles; the New Museum, New York; and the Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam. Light of Freedom was selected by an international jury as one of the best public art projects of 2020 by the design and fabrication firm, UAP.

Read more about the artist

Image gallery

Exhibition Support

Leadership support for Light of Freedom is made possible by the Ford Foundation.

Major support is provided by Candy and Michael Barasch, Suzanne Deal Booth, Ed Bradley Family Foundation, Harold and Colene Brown Family Foundation, The Lumpkin-Boccuzzi Family, Stardust Arts, and The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts.

Additional support is provided by Eve Biddle, Ingrid Cincala-Gilbert, Shawna C. Gallancy, Stephanie Joyce and Jim Vos, Rebecca Kramer, Charles Moffett, Catherine E. Sippin, Sarah Stein-Sapir, and Anonymous.

Major support for the art program is provided by Sasha C. Bass, Bunny & Charles Burson, Toby Devan Lewis, Ronald A. Pizzuti, Thornton Tomasetti, Tiffany & Co., Anonymous, and by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, in partnership with the City Council. Substantial support is provided by Charina Endowment Fund, Eataly, Helen Frankenthaler Foundation, The Jacques & Natasha Gelman Foundation, The Sol Lewitt Fund for Artist Work, Madison Square Park Art Council, Audrey & Danny Meyer, The New York EDITION, the Rudin Family, and Sorgente Group of America. Additional support is provided by 400 Park Avenue South, Irving Harris Foundation, Lenore G. Tawney Foundation, and Fern and Lenard Tessler.

Madison Square Park Conservancy is a public/private partnership with the New York City Department of Parks & Recreation.

Thank you to Materials for the Arts.

Abigail DeVille: Light of Freedom

Abigail DeVille: Light of Freedom

Abigail DeVille: Light of Freedom

Exhibition Support

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