The Facts
On August 4, 2026, T: The New York Times Style Magazine published a panel's selection of the 25 sculptures that define the modern age, with artist Arlene Shechet among those who determined the list. One of Shechet's favored works that made the final cut is Isamu Noguchi's Sunken Garden for Chase Manhattan Bank Plaza (1961–64). The installation, sixteen feet below the plaza's main level, features 27,000 cream-colored granite tiles encircling seven basalt boulders pulled from Kyoto's Uji River, with a fountain that creates a shallow pool when activated. The garden's organic elements offer a terrestrial respite for passers-by.
The Signal
The panel's inclusion of Noguchi's Sunken Garden underscores the enduring relevance of mid-century public sculpture in defining modernism's integration of art and architecture. For collectors and curators, this recognized list signals a canon of works that blend site-specificity with organic materials, highlighting the market and institutional value of such historically significant pieces. Shechet's role in the selection also reinforces her standing as a leading voice in contemporary sculpture, connecting her practice to modernist legacies.
- Artists: Arlene Shechet, Isamu Noguchi
- People: Mia Blessinger
- Locations: New York
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