Visiting Artist Tschabalala Self ’12 Profiled in L’Officiel
Tschabalala Self ’12. Photo by Paula Virta
Bard Visiting Artist Tschabalala Self ’12 was profiled by L’Officiel on the occasion of her sculpture’s unveiling in Trafalgar Square on September 10. Self is the second American artist in two decades to have her work selected for display on the famous fourth plinth in Trafalgar Square, one of the world’s most prestigious public art commissions. Self’s sculpture depicts a Black woman in motion, described by the artist as an everywoman figure. “Her presence is in fact very quotidian and mundane,” says Self of her sculpture, yet she sees its installation in Trafalgar Square as “a kind of social experiment.” “I’m interested in the ways people build their own worlds around my work and see a part of themselves,” says Self.
In an overview of Self’s artistic career, L’Officiel notes that her sculpture and textile work has appeared in exhibitions from MOMA PS1 to the Yuz Museum in Shanghai. “Self weaves figures that feel both invented and strikingly familiar,” writes Osman Can Yerebakan for L’Officiel. “In just a few years, she [has] established herself as one of the most closely watched artists of the last decade.”
Post Date: 09-15-2026
In an overview of Self’s artistic career, L’Officiel notes that her sculpture and textile work has appeared in exhibitions from MOMA PS1 to the Yuz Museum in Shanghai. “Self weaves figures that feel both invented and strikingly familiar,” writes Osman Can Yerebakan for L’Officiel. “In just a few years, she [has] established herself as one of the most closely watched artists of the last decade.”
Post Date: 09-15-2026