Tschabalala Self's sculptural relief "Art Lovers" (2025) will be installed on the façade of the New Museum in New York when it reopens this autumn with a new 60,000 sq. ft expansion designed by OMA. The 13ft-tall artwork depicts a Black couple kissing in a swirling embrace, inspired by Self's 2022 painting "Madly" and the architectural "kiss point" where the new building meets the original Sanaa-designed structure. The commission continues the museum's façade sculpture programme, which previously featured works by Chris Burden, Isa Genzken, and Glenn Ligon.
The installation marks Self's first large-scale public sculpture in New York and only her second such project, following "Seated" (2022) at London's Coal Drops Yard, which was later defaced in a racially-motivated act of vandalism at the De La Warr Pavilion. That incident, which prompted over 300 local residents to voluntarily clean the sculpture, reinforced Self's commitment to public art's power for healing and community engagement. The piece matters as it positions Self as a leading artistic voice of her generation while highlighting the political resonance of depicting Black love and intimacy in public space.