Carol Bove: Nights of Cabiria | Gagosian Quarterly

Why It Matters

Bove’s work redefines how industrial materials can generate immersive, contemplative experiences, prompting galleries to prioritize spatial perception as a curatorial strategy.

Key Takeaways

• Bove choreographs space to heighten full-body perception in gallery
• Steel sculptures mimic fabric, challenging material expectations for viewers
• Illusionism interrupts perception, prompting deeper inquiry into reality
• Historical steel beam patterns evoke Art Deco and 1930s commerce
• Fellini trilogy frames installation, offering Buddhist‑like reflective wisdom

Summary

Carol Bove’s latest Gagosian Quarterly installation, “Nights of Cabiria,” blends sculpture, architecture and filmic reference to interrogate how viewers inhabit space. The work juxtaposes industrial steel beams with delicate fabrics, screens and wind‑activated elements, inviting the audience to move through a choreographed environment.

Bove emphasizes bodily awareness, using the steel’s “fabric‑like” finish and the grid’s illusion to collapse the distinction between hard and soft. She argues that perception relies on shortcuts, and by disrupting them—through shifting materials, hidden spider‑web details, and a constantly moving curtain—she forces a momentary suspension of habitual cognition.

“The steel is actually very soft and transient,” Bove remarks, highlighting the paradox of 20th‑century civil‑engineering material rendered as a screen‑like surface. She also draws on Fellini’s “Nights of Cabiria,” “La Dolce Vita” and “8½” as a “Buddhist wisdom” lens, suggesting that oblique viewing reveals hidden reflections.

The installation signals a broader shift in contemporary art toward immersive, perception‑based experiences that repurpose industrial heritage. By re‑contextualizing historic beam patterns and merging them with digital‑media aesthetics, Bove challenges collectors and institutions to reconsider the narrative power of material culture.

Original Description

Join the artist inside her exhibition "Carol Bove: Nights of Cabiria"—which was presented at Gagosian, Beverly Hills, from September 25 to November 1, 2025—as she considers the power of illusion, the histories of her materials, and the philosophical lessons at the heart of Federico Fellini’s films: https://on.gagosian.com/3ZD5WDh

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Artwork © Carol Bove Studio LLC; video: Pushpin Films

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