Yesterday, The Bass unveiled Ugo Rondinone‘s towering Miami Mountain in Collins Park in Miami Beach. The 42-foot-high sculpture is made of five Nevada-sources limestone boulders painted in blue, yellow, orange, red, and pink.
It was commissioned by the museum, which re-opens to the public in the spring of 2017. There to mark the event was The Bass’ Executive Director Silvia Karman Cubiñá, saying “After over a year in the making, Miami Mountain by Ugo Rondinone is just the beginning of what’s in store for our institution. We are looking forward to producing more ambitious projects like this one, larger exhibitions, and more robust programming, very much in the spirit of our city and The Bass’ curatorial vision.”
The artist was present, as well, offering “Welcome to Miami Mountain. I am very happy to see so many of you here tonight and thank you to Silvia and The Bass for inviting me to do this project. Please enjoy as this is just a taste before my exhibition at the museum next year.”
The work is also a public beacon for Miami, as Commissioner Rosen Gonzalez pointed out, “Miami Mountain is going to be so defining, a beacon, for this new cultural arts district here in the Collins Park neighborhood,” and “Miami Beach’s new postcard.”
