Anthony Caro, born in Surrey, England and considered the most influential British sculptor of his generation, considers New York his spiritual home. “The U.S. is more attuned to abstraction, and New York is a city with a deep affinity for modern art,” he said, at the opening of a selection of his work in industrial steel on the Roof of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The exhibition marks the fiftieth anniversary of his first showing of steel sculpture, a body of work that, in particular, highlights the interplay between sculpture and architecture.

Though the skies were overcast and the city’s fabulous skyline more muted than usual, Caro was delighted to see six of his pieces, which he calls, “my children,” on the Met roof, which he considers, “an ideal place for sculpture.” As he put it, “Who could hope for a better background?” Who, indeed? Especially because it sets off a dialogue between his large, industrial materials and New York’s skyscrapers.

Eighty-seven years young, (“I’m not old,” he declared, when asked if his artistic powers were waning.), Caro made it clear that in his life as well as his work, “I don’t look back, only forward.” And to confirm his ongoing vigor, he announced that he was working on a “three-block-long piece of sculpture for Park Avenue,” which he hopes will be completed and in place by next March. “New York is special,” he added, “so take care of it.”

Caro’s first encounter with America, in 1959 — and with such towering American artists as sculptor David Smith, painter Kenneth Noland and critic Clement Greenberg — transformed his art. As he wrote in 1961, “America was the catalyst for a change in my work….America made me see that there are no barriers and no regulations. Americans simply aren’t bound to tradition or conventional solutions in their art or in anything else.” Though Caro’s main studio is in London, he also has a house and studio in New England and has taught in Bennington College, Vermont.

Odalisque, owned by the Met, was one of the first pieces displayed in its first roof garden show in 1987 and Anthony Caro On the Roof is the 14th consecutive single-artist installation on the Cantor Roof Garden. “We are delighted to welcome him back,” said Gary Tinterow, Engelhard Chairman of the Museum’s Department of Nineteenth Century, Modern and Contemporary Art, who organized the exhibit with Anne L Strauss, Associate Curator.

For those who simply want to enjoy a good martini and the New York skyline as daylight turns to dusk, the Met has come up with a new way to absorb – so to speak — culture, by naming four of its Martinis after Caro’s works. You can sidle up to the Roof Garden’s Martini Bar and order a Midday, a Blaze On, an After Summer or an Uptown martini, in addition to the Classic and the Metropolitan. Who says the Met isn’t hip?

Anthony Caro on the Roof

The Metropolitan Museum of Art
April 26 – October 30, 2011
For further information on the Museum’s hours, go its website at www.metmuseum.org

Photo of Anthony Caro by Eleanor Foa Dienstag

Sculptures, from top:

Anthony Caro (British, b. 1924)
Blazon, 1987-90
Steel painted red
Courtesy of Mitchell-Innes & Nash, New York, and Annely Juda Fine Art,
London
Photo: The Metropolitan Museum of Art/Wilson Santiago

Anthony Caro (British, b. 1924)
After Summer, 1968
Painted steel
Collection of Audrey and David Mirvish, Toronto
Photo: The Metropolitan Museum of Art/Wilson Santiago

Anthony Caro (British, b. 1924)
Midday, 1960
Painted steel
The Museum of Modern Art, New York, Mr. and Mrs. Arthur Wiesenberger
Fund, 1974 (419.1974.a-g)
Photo: The Metropolitan Museum of Art/Wilson Santiago

Anthony Caro (British, b. 1924)
Odalisque, 1984
Steel
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Gift of Stephen and Nan Swid, 1984
(1984.328a-d)
Photo: The Metropolitan Museum of Art/Wilson Santiago

Anthony Caro (British, b. 1924)
End Up, 2010
Steel rusted, cast iron and jarrah wood
The artist, courtesy of Mitchell-Innes & Nash, New York
Photo: The Metropolitan Museum of Art/Wilson Santiago