The New Museum has unveiled a major public sculpture by Sarah Lucas titled "VENUS VICTORIA," installed on its new outdoor plaza as part of the OMA-designed expansion on the Bowery. The large-scale work, which opened on May 12, 2026, and will remain on view for two years, inaugurates a long-term commission series dedicated to public sculpture by women artists. Lucas was selected by an all-artist jury including Teresita Fernández, Joan Jonas, Julie Mehretu, Cindy Sherman, and Kiki Smith, and is the first of five artists to be commissioned over the next decade. The sculpture extends Lucas's Bunny series, placing a reclining figure atop a giant washing machine to subvert traditional monumental statues.
This commission matters because it marks a significant shift in public art, prioritizing women artists in a historically male-dominated genre of monumental sculpture. By placing a playful, irreverent work at a busy intersection in New York, Lucas challenges conventional notions of public monuments and expands the conversation around gender, the body, and power in public space. The initiative also reinforces the New Museum's role as a leading contemporary art institution, while highlighting Lucas's continued relevance as a major figure in British and international contemporary art.