Alice Aycock studied in the late 1960s under minimalist pioneer Robert Morris, and soon thereafter began working on large-scale sculptures in wood and stone. In the 1980s, she began using steel and produced massive installations that challenged ideas of industrial aesthetics. She recently made headlines for “Paper Chase,” her series of monumental, ribbon-esque pieces along Park Avenue in Manhattan. Her steel works often appear to have transcended the laws of gravity, floating like tops above the otherwise-mundane grounds of public spaces and institutions. Aycock’s work breathes life into artificial environments, bringing playful shifts of perception wherever they are installed.