Henry Moore once said that "sculpture is an art of the open air." That's certainly true of his sculpture, all those massive blobs of bronze sunning themselves in plazas all over the world. Moore wanted his art to be seen outdoors, in primal settings that would bring out its kinship with the mineral fundaments of the earth itself. Primal may not be the word to describe the well-groomed landscapes at the New York Botanical Garden, but the backdrop of grassy slopes and monumental trees for this outdoor show of dozens of monumental Moores turned out to be just the right fit for his work, which can seem to have been drawn powerfully from nature but shrewdly cultivated all the same.
New York Botanical Garden, Bronx, New York (5/24 – 1/11/09)