The Fairchild Tropical Botanical Garden in Coral Gables, Florida is known for its spectacular tropical landscape. Since several years, there’s also a visual art program that attracts visitors to the park, with artists such as Dale Chihuly, Fernando Botero, Roy Lichtenstein, Mark di Suvero, Yayoi Kusama and Francois-Xavier and Claude Lalanne.
This year’s Art at Fairchild exhibition is dedicated to Will Ryman’s oversized sculptures. It’s Will Ryman’s largest outdoor exhibition to date. It includes three massive, new monochrome rose sculptures in red, yellow, and blue, ranging from five to 30 feet in height. The largest one, Icon (2011) has already been on display in Regent’s Park in London as part of Frieze Art Fair’s Frieze Sculpture Park 2011. The three roses titled Origin, Icon, and Encore are works that Will Ryman envisioned especially for Fairchild Tropical Botanical Garden.
In addition to the roses, Will Ryman has created several oversized petals that float on the ponds and lie on the grassy areas of the garden. He also distributed 15 ants and seven bees on the park.
Another of Will Ryman’s colossal roses, 65th Street, was installed on the Sagamore hotel’s beachfront for Art Basel Miami Beach 2011.
Will Ryman was born in New York City in 1969. His work has been included in numerous exhibitions including “Greater New York 2005”, at P.S. 1 Contemporary Art Center, New York; and “The Shape of Things to Come”, at The Saatchi Gallery, London. Ryman’s first major outdoor installation “The Roses” made its debut on Park Avenue in New York City in January 2011.
Will Ryman at Fairchild: Desublimation of the Rose. Fairchild Tropical Botanical Garden, Coral Gables / Florida. VIP tour, November 29, 2011.
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