Ugo Rondidnone work
The Bass, Miami Beach’s contemporary art museum, closed in May 2015, but now its newly transformed space will open to the public on Sunday, Oct. 29, 2017 with solo exhibitions by Ugo Rondinone and Pascale Marthine Tayou. A self-titled solo exhibition by Mika Rottenberg will open in December, aligning with Art Basel Miami Beach.
In addition, for October, a large gallery will be dedicated to a display of recent contemporary acquisitions and gifts to The Bass’ permanent collection.
The renovation increased programmable space by nearly 50 percent within the existing footprint, creating a new internal structure with four additional galleries, a museum shop, café and designated education facility.
“Our vision for The Bass has always expanded beyond our walls to the city of Miami Beach. We are delighted that our transformed space will allow us to offer an enhanced experience to the visitors and residents who have long supported us throughout the years, as well as national and international first-time guests,” says Executive Director and Chief Curator Silvia Karman Cubiñá. “The three exhibitions we chose to inaugurate the new space this fall reflect The Bass’ commitment to presenting international contemporary art by established and mid-career artists."
More than just a building renovation, The Bass’ transformation brings the physical museum to the level of its curatorial ambition.
Said George Lindemann, President of The Bass Board of Directors, says, “As Miami Beach’s contemporary art museum, "The museum’s walls hold a historic legacy as the first public exhibition space in South Florida, and a bright future as the platform for presenting the most intriguing and inspiring contemporary artists of today and tomorrow."
Spanning the entirety of the museum’s newly designed second floor, "good evening beautiful blue" by Ugo Rondinone is a part of a major multi-institution retrospective comprising works that span three decades.
The exhibition centers on the work, "vocabulary of solitude" (2014), an installation of 45 life-size clown figures, each engaged in a different everyday activity, such as sleeping, daydreaming, waking up, sitting and running. Marking its first appearance in the U.S. in nearly two decades, a separate gallery presents an immersive six-channel video installation titled "It’s late…" (1999–2000), displaying slow-motion loops of people doing various isolated mundane tasks. On view in the third space, "clockwork for oracles II" (2008) is a multi-wall installation comprised of 52-mirrored windows (one for each week in the year) set against a backdrop of whitewashed pages from a local newspaper.
Pascale M Tayou work
Ugo Rondinone is a Swiss-born mixed-media artist who lives and works in New Born in Cameroon and based in Ghent, Belgium,
Pascale Marthine Tayou will bring his itinerant practice to Miami Beach for his exhibition, Beautiful, creating an organic and collaboratively formed presentation of work made in the last decade. Visitors will navigate between stacked Arabic pots, "Colonnes Pascale" (2012), and encounter Tayou's colorful "Fresque de Craies" (2015), constructed of hundreds of chalk pieces arranged beneath West African colon tourist figures, gold foil, and plastic eggs. Tayou, whose practice spans media and subject matter, is an alchemist of sorts. His work fluidly transforms and recasts the viewer’s understanding of materials, objects, and narratives.
Beautiful will also include an intervention with the museum’s permanent collection where Tayou presents his work alongside his own selection of objects from The Bass’ founding collection. The dialogue between contemporary artworks and objects from the past speak to his overall practice and material considerations for incorporating objects encountered by chance or from his immediate surroundings into the installation. Further, Tayou’s concern for the decolonization of histories and territories aligns with the international and transient nature of Miami Beach and the impact tourism continues to have in shaping the city. A newly commissioned, site-specific work by Tayou called "Welcome Wall" (2017), composed of animated LED signs that read "welcome" in over 70 languages, broadcasts a message of profound inclusion from the lobby of the museum.
Pascale Marthine Tayou lives and works between Belgium and Cameroon.
Mika Rottenberg work
Mika Rottenberg's self-titled solo exhibition presents a selection of work created within the past two years. The exhibition occupies all galleries comprising the historic building of the museum and features the U.S. debut of several works, including "NoNoseKnows (Artist Variant)" (2015), a video and sculptural installation that combines fact and fiction, documenting a group of Chinese laborers who harvest pearls from oysters in ZhuJi, China, empty high rises near Shanghai and a set built in the artist studio in New York.
Special Events
Thursday, October 26, 2017 – The Bass’ Grand Re-Opening Party, open to members at the $250-Affiliate level and 8 p.m. – 12 a.m. above. Guests will have the opportunity to view the transformed museum and inaugural exhibitions while enjoying celebratory drinks and culinary delights. Members at the $1,000-Benefactor level and above are invited to a pre-event dinner at 6:30 p.m.
Saturday, October 28, 2017 – Member Preview Day, open to all museum members, all levels. The day will be filled 10a.m. – 5 p.m. with special programming including, tours, lectures, hands on activities and other surprises along the way.
Sunday, October 29, 2017 – Opening Day Celebration, open to the public. 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. The entire community is invited to attend and share in this momentous occasion and celebration. Doors to the museum open at 10 a.m. and admission to the museum is free to all for the duration of the day. To include contests, tours and special programming and activities for the whole family.
To become a member and for more information about these events, please visit thebass.org/membership, or contact Daphna Starr at membership@thebass.org.
Upcoming Exhibitions At The Bass
- Ugo Rondinone, good evening beautiful blue Oct. 29, 2017 – February 19, 2018.
- Pascale Marthine Tayou, Beautiful Oct. 29, 2017 – April 2, 2018.
- Mika Rottenberg, Dec. 7, 2017 – April 30, 2018.
