British artist Sarah Lucas has unveiled a new public sculpture titled "VENUS VICTORIA" (2026) at the New Museum's entrance plaza on the Bowery in Lower Manhattan. The work, which will remain on view for two years, features a monumental nude female figure with flailing arms and large pink breasts perched atop a dusty washing machine, wearing bright yellow high heels. Lucas adapted the figure from her ongoing "Bunnies" series (1997–present), which uses knotted pantyhose and found objects. The sculpture was unveiled on May 12, 2026, inaugurating a decade-long series of public commissions by women artists at the museum.
This commission matters because it subverts the historically male-dominated tradition of public monuments, using irreverent humor and Pop aesthetics to challenge conventional representations of the female body in civic space. The work also signals the New Museum's commitment to centering women artists in its public programming, while making contemporary art accessible to a broad, non-specialist audience on a busy New York street. Lucas's sculpture continues her decades-long exploration of gender, sexuality, and everyday objects, now translated into a highly visible public context.