14 sculptures that dare to stand out

Why we love it: Begun in 1961, Yayoi Kusama’s soft sculptures transform mundane, everyday objects, such as a sun hat, by covering them in sewn and painted phallic protuberances. The resulting surreal amalgams highlight the artist’s formal fascination with the repetition of forms in three dimensions.

Why we love it: The Venezuelan artist Magdalena Fernández studied physics and mathematics before turning to geometric installations and sculptures like this one, which hails from a grouping of works selected by prominent collectors of Latin American art Tiqui Atencio & Ago Demirdjian.

Why we love it: This impressively scaled standing mobile was executed during an important early moment in Alexander Calder’s career, coming from the late 1940s, a time when the artist begins to master the notion and aesthetic of kinetic sculpture. Most stunning, aside from the vibrant blue base, is the horizontal brass element, which has a striking rose gold quality. This brass spear balances Calder’s colourful, playful elements.

Why we love it: This work is a playful example of Chris Ofili’s proclivity for the taboo, irreverently pushing the boundaries of sculpture with humour and flamboyance. In the artist’s own words, ‘From the front she appears incredibly dignified. When you walk round the back you see something you don’t expect.’

Gifted by Ken Price to fellow West Coast artist Billy Al Bengston, Lick – half blob, half snake – is a superlative example of Price’s celebrated chromatism and biomorphic abstraction. In the words of critic Dave Hickey, Price’s bold ceramics reside ‘on the line between bewitching and ludicrous’, a playful duality that is certainly visible in the present sculpture.

Why we love it: The Spanish artist Manolo Valdés is celebrated for his contemporary reinterpretations of the Old Masters. Reina Mariana recalls Diego Velázquez’s Queen Mariana (1652-1653) and Las Meninas (1656).

Why we love it: Speaker, a seminal example from the Jeff Koons’s Pre-New series, represents one of the artist's earliest experimentations with the readymade, signalling his interest in the commodification of everyday objects.

Why we love them: The American Minimalist John McCracken pushed the boundaries of sculpture by exploring its overlaps with painting. From the pristine surface of On the Go to the rich wood grain of Yellow Wood Plank, the three works offered in the upcoming sale showcase McCracken’s mastery of form.

Why we love it: This Segal masterpiece was executed in the final years of his life, when his facility with materiality was at an all-time high. The delicate details of the plaster figure contrast with an archival bus seat and New York City map, which carry scratches, rust, curling labels and other evidence of everyday living.

Why we love it: Made from Green of Guatemala marble, Lynda Benglis’s Untitled I features stunning veins and variations in the rock. The surface of the stone is also perfectly smooth, showing the artist’s expert manipulation of a hard, seemingly static material into one of her famed abstract, knot-like forms.

Why we love it: TOGETHER, in which two of KAWS’s COMPANION figures embrace, is particularly tender. This monumental bronze evokes the sweetness of human connection.

Why we love it: In his brief but impactful career, the Spanish artist Juan Muñoz beguiled audiences with his otherworldly figures, often combined with perplexing architectural elements, such as in the nearly eight-foot-tall Doorman.