New & Upcoming Commissions
Art in Public Places accessions artworks at a rate of approximately 10-20 new works a year. Projects range radically in scope and scale, and range from large-scale, architecturally integrated works, to two and three-dimensional works that activate a building's public spaces.
Each commission and acquisition is driven by the artist's intention and created with deep consideration of the site and context. For the public, this provides an opportunity to encounter artworks in the public realm that explore, celebrate, and strengthen the unique identity of a place. For the artist creating their first public artwork, a commission may represent a chance to expand their practice and create a new work that is larger in scale than they ever have created, and to permanently impact the built environment outside of a traditional art space.
While significant local, national, and international artists are present in the collection, supporting and expanding the work of regional artists continues to be a key program objective.
Selected Highlights: New & Upcoming Commissions
MSC Cruise Terminal, PortMiami
Seaport
Brooklyn, NY-based artist Hugh Hayden will create Melting Pot, a wall-based installation featuring sculptural elements related to his signature body of work combining traditional African masks and cast-iron cooking skillets. Uniquely created in a variety of forms and finishes, the works are rooted in exploring the African origins of the Americas, using cooking as a metaphor for the creation of the United States. The PAC recommended that Hayden pursue his full proposal of 60 skillets for the interior of a VIP lounge.
Civil and Probate Courthouse
Internal Services Department
Miami-based artist Edouard Duval-Carrié was recommended to pursue two large-scale paintings on aluminum panels that will be situated to the left and right of the main lobby reception desk. Highlighting the grandeur and beauty of the Everglades and distinct flora and fauna found in the natural landscape of South Florida, the work will also capture the formation of the built environment in the region and highlight topics such as the Florida aquifer and drinking water.
Selected Highlights: Recently Completed
Every Separation is a Link, 2023
Cast bronze, bitumen stucco
26’ x 11’
Gallery on the River
Public Housing and Community Development
Every Separation Is a Link by Luis Gispert is made of over two hundred feet of cast bronze “Cuban-link” chain pattern, occupying a zone between painting and sculpture. Inspired by Gispert's studio paintings where he uses chains like paint to create gestural marks, the concept for this work was transformed to an architectural scale to create a major site-specific installation. The work furthers Gispert's interest in the themes of race, class, cultural identity, and the immigrant experience.
Ocean Contour, 2022
Acrylic paint on raw canvas
185' W x 8'5" H
Terminal F, PortMiami
Ocean Contour is a site-specific painting that brings the feel of the ocean to an interior space. The palette of the work is deep ultramarine blue patterning of pigments, settling into the raw canvas folds. The achieved mark-making captures the sensation of wave patterns and light as it is reflected on the sea bed. The concept behind the work connects to Arte Povera ideas as presented by Italian art critic, Germano Celant, who theorizes that all painting exists on a continuous scroll. This epic-scale painting incorporates fourteen individually composed paintings that connect to a whole.