Facing east and rising over 66 feet on the sands of Giza Plateau, the Great Sphinx sits, carved from limestone around 2500 B.C. It is among the world’s most renowned examples of a very old art form: the monolithic sculpture, which is made from a single block of stone. As this exhibition shows, the medium continues to resonate with artists. Bringing together contemporary works and ancient artifacts—one piece dates to 900 A.D.—the show highlights verticality by arranging the sculptures in a 10x10 grid. It’s a presentation that emphasizes the weight and singularity of each piece while drawing the viewer’s gaze upward, where a cerebral dialogue between the artworks takes place in the plane overhead. The spatial and aesthetic interconnectedness on view, both above and below, illustrates the monolith’s endurance, and its somber yet spiritual nature. —C.J.F.