2016 marks the fourth year that Nicholas Baume, Director and Chief Curator of Public Art Fund, New York, will curate Public at Art Basel in Miami Beach. The theme ‘Ground Control’ will frame this year’s selection, which includes over 20 site-specific works by established and emerging artists spanning 10 countries. Produced in collaboration with The Bass for the past six years, the sector will transform Miami Beach’s Collins Park into an outdoor exhibition space with significant works by Magdalena Abakanowicz, David Adamo, Jean-Marie Appriou, Eric Baudart, Huma Bhabha, Yoan Capote, Claudia Comte, Matías Duville, Camille Henrot, Glenn Kaino, Alicja Kwade, Sol LeWitt, Wagner Malta Tavares, Tony Matelli, William J. O’Brien, Anthony Pearson, Norbert Prangenberg, Ugo Rondinone, Tony Tasset and Erwin Wurm.
The Public sector of Art Basel in Miami Beach, whose Lead Partner is UBS, will open on Wednesday, November 30 at 8pm with a special evening performance program featuring Davide Balula, Lady Bunny, Rob Pruitt and Naama Tsabar. The Public Opening Night is free of charge and open to the public.
Nicholas Baume’s curatorial focus for the 2016 show will be ‘Ground Control’, inspired by David Bowie, who passed away earlier this year. Under this theme, the Public sector will examine ways in which artists invent and imagine new kinds of space: physical, social and psychic. Interpreting ‘Ground Control’ literally, the works will invite viewers into new relationships with familiar surroundings and reframe Collins Park into a site for transformational experiences with contemporary art.
Several works will challenge how visitors experience their surroundings through repurposed everyday objects. Eric Baudart’s (b. 1972) ‘Atmosphère’ (2016) will feature a clear tank filled with yellow peanut oil, in which a fan slowly rotates. The reconfigured relationship between materials and scale is designed to physically overwhelm the viewer. David Adamo (b. 1979) will immortalize miscellaneous objects in a series of small bronze sculptures depicting such items as citrus fruits, flip flops, styrofoam cups and a sandwich from La Sandwicherie, the iconic Miami Beach fastfood stand. Similarly, ‘Malpertuis’ (2016) by multimedia artist Wagner Malta Tavares (b. 1964) will situate a typical 19th century outdoor lamp into the park landscape. While it will appear unremarkable during the day, the lamp will begin to glow as darkness falls, revealing that the lamp has been created from a light-absorbing fluorescent resin. Lastly, Alicja Kwade (b. 1979) will dismantle and reassemble a bicycle to create ‘Reise ohne Ankunft (Mercier)’ (2016), bent to form a perfect circle, suggesting a surreal never-ending journey.
‘Naturaleza Urbana’ (2012) by Yoan Capote (b. 1977) addresses urbanization and the clash between man and nature. The installation will comprise a large pair of bronze handcuffs and a key that will physically shackle together the bases of two trees – one large with a handcuff tight around its trunk, while the other is small enough that the closed handcuff will circle the base without touching it. The juxtaposition of the natural and industrial will continue with ‘Arena Parking’ (2016) by Matías Duville (b. 1974), a topographical installation created from pressed asphalt with a large-scale forged steel ring in its center. Jean-Marie Appriou’s (b. 1986) installation ‘Mirage’ (2016) will feature four aluminum cast sculptures of camels standing on their own reflections, as if in a mirage. Measuring nearly 3 meters, each camel will be almost life-size – significantly larger than previous work by the artist.
Geometric forms will also feature prominently in this year’s Public sector, with three large baked-enamel on aluminum structures from Sol LeWitt’s (b. 1928, d. 2007) series of ‘Incomplete Open Cubes’ (1974/90), as well as ‘156 Triangles and their Demonstration’ (2016), a monumental wall construction covered in bright acrylic geometric patterns by Claudia Comte (b. 1983).
Two large sculptures in bronze, iron and copper by Camille Henrot (b. 1978) – ‘Contrology’ (2016) and ‘Dropping the Ball’ (2016) – will combine both figurative and abstract elements. Part of an ongoing series by the artist, the sculptures reflect the emotional and intellectual state of the first day of the week, Monday, when the mind may be both melancholic and hopeful. The human form will reoccur throughout the sector, including Glenn Kaino’s (b. 1972) ‘Invisible Man’ (2016), a figure standing on a pedestal with his hands raised. The cast aluminum form will prompt viewers to consider how racial identity and race relations intersect with cultural hegemony, architecture and public art. Tony Matelli’s (b. 1971) ‘Jesus’ (2016) will present a familiar figure cast in concrete, adorned with several painted bronze avocados. In ‘10 Standing Figures’ (2000) by Magdalena Abakanowicz (b. 1930), a group of ten imposing, cast bronze figures will be arranged in rows to occupy a space on the lawn of Collins Park.
Public will debut William J. O’Brien’s (b. 1975) first-ever outdoor sculpture, ‘Untitled (The Protectors)’ (2016), which references Mahakala, a wrathful deity in Tibetan Buddhism. Huma Bhabha (b. 1962) will present another totemic figure, ‘Friend’ (2015), a large-scale bronze sculpture cast from styrofoam, that stands more than two meters tall.
Anthony Pearson (b. 1969) envisions his work as drawings in space. Created by transposing a sketch into a photograph and then into a sculpture, Pearson’s monumental ‘Untitled (Transmission)’ (2016) series is comprised of steel-cut sandblasted white Portland cement forms that are covered with a steel patina.
The inclusion of Norbert Prangenberg’s (b. 1949, d. 2002) large-scale outdoor glazed ceramic sculpture ‘Figur’ (1999) in this year’s show represents a defining moment for the sculptor as it is the first time his monumental sculpture is exhibited outside of Europe.
Tony Tasset’s (b. 1960) monumental ‘Arrow Sculpture’ (2016) will depict a pair of larger than life arrows, one pointing up and the other pointing down. The largest piece from Tasset’s ongoing series, the arrows will be painted in bright, contrasting colors meant to reference the art market and changing tastes. Erwin Wurm‘s ‘Big Disobedience’ (2016), inspired by Henry David Thoreau, will be another larger than life work. This piece will feature two figures that utilize clothing in place of the body to question societal obedience to political and social correctness.
Recently rebranded as The Bass, Miami Beach’s contemporary art museum will present a towering work by Ugo Rondinone (b. 1964). Consisting of five brightly painted boulders stacked in the form of a contemporary cairn, ‘Miami Mountain’ (2016) finds its geological inspiration from ‘hoodos’, rock formations of North American badlands that have endured time and nature.
The opening night performances will likewise extend themes from Baume’s curatorial premise. Davide Balula’s (b. 1978) interactive performance will incorporate the preparation and distribution of a garlic infused beverage. Musicians, who will join guests in drinking the cocktail throughout the evening, will be positioned in the crowd with brass instruments to randomly create human-like sounds. Elsewhere in the park, Naama Tsabar (b. 1982) will stage a new iteration of her ongoing Composition series. The coordinated actions of a sculptural-live field of musicians will create a dense yet not entirely cacophonous musical sound field. Legendary drag performer, DJ and founder of Wigstock Lady Bunny (b. 1962) will transform Collins Park Rotunda into a theatrical spaceship-disco tribute to David Bowie, while Rob Pruitt (b. 1964) will convert a vintage car into an all-in-one barbecue bar and lounge.
The exhibition in Collins Park will last through Sunday, December 4, 2016, although a selection of artworks will remain installed until March 15, 2017 as part of ‘The Bass Projects’. Tours will be offered daily at 2pm starting from the On-site Info Point (no reservation required). Private, group and school-group tours will be offered by reservation.
2016 Public artworks:
Magdalena Abakanowicz, 10 Standing Figures, 2000, Marlborough Gallery
David Adamo, Untitled, 2016, Peter Freeman, Inc.
Jean-Marie Appriou, Mirage, 2016, Clearing
Eric Baudart, Atmosphère, 2016, Edouard Malingue Gallery
Huma Bhabha, Friend, 2015, Salon 94
Yoan Capote, Naturaleza Urbana, 2012, Jack Shainman Gallery
Claudia Comte, 156 Triangles and their Demonstration, 2016, König Galerie, Gladstone Gallery
Matías Duville, Arena Parking, 2016, Revolver Galería
Camille Henrot, Contrology and Dropping the Ball, 2016, Metro Pictures, kamel mennour, König Galerie
Glenn Kaino, Invisible Man, 2016, Kavi Gupta
Alicja Kwade, Reise ohne Ankunft (Mercier), 2016, König Galerie
Sol LeWitt, Incomplete Open Cube 8/9, 1974; Incomplete Open Cube 5/1, 1974; Incomplete Open Cube 8/5, 1974, Paula Cooper Gallery
Wagner Malta Tavares, Malpertuis, 2016, Galeria Marilia Razuk
Tony Matelli, Jesus, 2016, Marlborough Gallery
William J. O’Brien, Untitled (The Protectors), 2016, Marianne Boesky Gallery
Anthony Pearson, Untitled (Transmission), 2016, Marianne Boesky Gallery
Norbert Prangenberg, Figur, 1999, Garth Greenan Gallery
Ugo Rondinone, Miami Mountain, 2016, The Bass
Tony Tasset, Arrow Sculpture, 2016, Kavi Gupta
Erwin Wurm, Big Disobedience, 2016, Lehmann Maupin
Public opening night performances:
Davide Balula, Interrupting Words with Burp Sounds, 2014-2016, rodolphe janssen, galerie frank elbaz, Gagosian Gallery, François Ghebaly Gallery
Lady Bunny, Lady Bunny’s Intergalactic Disco
Rob Pruitt, Stretch, Grill and Chill, 2016, Gavin Brown’s enterprise, Massimo De Carlo
Naama Tsabar, Composition 18, 2016, Paul Kasmin Gallery, Spinello Projects
Public is produced in collaboration with The Bass and supported by MGM Resorts Art & Culture. More information on the sector is available at artbasel.com/miami-beach/