Title
A Resolution of the City Commission authorizing the City Manager to negotiate and execute an agreement with Tresart, Inc. for acquisition of the artwork "Fin" by Richard Serra (recommendation to deny by the Cultural Development Board approval/denial vote: 4 to 2); and authorizing an amendment to the Fiscal Years 2025-2026 and 2026-2027 amended budgets to recognize as revenue a transfer from the Art in Public Places reserve, and appropriating such funds to put toward the cost of acquisition, installation, and related expenses regarding the artwork.
Body
The City has implemented the Art in Public Places program pursuant to Article 9 of the Coral Gables Zoning Code for the purpose of acquiring, commissioning, and maintaining art in public places and has consistently expressed interest in strengthening the City's public art collection through the acquisition of significant works created by prominent, internationally recognized artists.
On September 15, 2026, the City Commission passed Resolution 2026-270 expressing support for the city’s pursuit of the potential acquisition of an artwork by Richard Serra.
Staff received a proposal from Tresart, Inc., commissioned an appraisal of the artwork, gathered information for installation requirements, and communicated directly with the Serra Studio regarding the authenticity of the artwork.
Following due diligence, the proposal and support materials were presented to the Arts Advisory Panel and Cultural Development Board.
About the artwork:
“Fin” is an inverted, truncated cone - a form that situates it within the artist’s series of curved steel sculptures. It is one of his first works to feature sloped sides, a major technical advancement in his work. He has since used curved steel for many of his most important works, including the torqued Ellipses works of the 1990s.
The artwork is constructed of hot rolled steel and stands over 14 feet high, 18 feet wide, and is 3 inches wide with the overall sculpture having a gentle curve and slight tilt backwards. It is recommended that the piece be installed in an area that is easily accessible and able to be walked around.
About the artist:
Richard Serra was born in 1989 in California and passed away recently in 2024. Over a six-decade career, Richard Serra produced large-scale, often site-specific sculptures for architectural, urban, and landscape settings spanning the globe, from Iceland to New Zealand. As Gagosian’s Mark Francis observed in the Brooklyn Rail’s 2024 tribute, his work “appealed to a large audience, was appreciated in museums and public spaces, and yet contributed to a highly specialized intellectual discourse.” Concerned with material presence and bodily experience, it has, Francis continued, “a unique ability to seem at once disarmingly simplistic, and at the same time to remain deeply considered, highly complex, and subtle.”
The current suggested location of the proposed public artwork is within a new downtown park at the corner of Salzedo Street and Almeria Avenue being developed in partnership with the Regency Parc development.
If approved, and while design and construction of the park proceeds, the artwork is proposed for storage within the city.
Funding for the acquisition of the artwork, packing, transportation, and delivery is proposed through the Art in Public Places fund.
The artwork will require a foundation that will be funded separately along with installation, lighting, signage, and landscaping.
The cost of annual maintenance will be assessed by a professional conservation team once the artwork is installed.
The Cultural Development Board voted (4-2) recommending denial at this time to acquire the artwork “Fin” at their meeting on October 20, 2026.
Funding for the artwork, transportation, installation and related costs is proposed through the Art Fund, to include $118,801of the FY25-26 interest accrued in the Art Fund and the Art in Public Places permit payment from City Hall Renovation capital project.
Recommended Action
[Enter Recommended Action Here]