untitled

Untitled (2024) by American sculptor Joel Shapiro is a dynamic, abstract bronze sculpture that explores balance, motion, and spatial tension. Composed of angular forms arranged in a seemingly precarious configuration, the work reflects Shapiro’s long-standing interest in how sculpture can animate space and elicit emotional response through structure alone.

While the sculpture is formally abstract, it evokes the outline of a human figure mid-motion—frozen in a moment of leaping, twisting, or falling. This ambiguity is central to Shapiro’s practice, where simple geometric forms are arranged in ways that feel deeply expressive, often conveying vulnerability, playfulness, or defiance without ever depicting a literal figure.

The matte-painted bronze surface enhances the work’s weight and solidity, while the overall composition suggests lightness and flight. Viewers are encouraged to walk around the sculpture, experiencing how its orientation and implied movement shift depending on perspective. This relational quality—between artwork, environment, and viewer—is key to Shapiro’s approach to public sculpture.

As part of Riyadh Art’s Permanent Collection, Untitled becomes a conversation piece within the city’s cultural landscape. Its form appears both spontaneous and intentional, inviting open interpretation while offering a moment of pause and reflection within the urban setting.

Shapiro, whose works are held in major museums and collections worldwide, has consistently pushed the boundaries of modern sculpture since the 1970s. With Untitled, he brings his signature language of expressive abstraction to Riyadh—creating a work that is both physically grounded and conceptually weightless.