Title
A Resolution of the City Commission approving the concept, commissioning, and donation of a work of public art by Alicja Kwade in conjunction with the development project at 103 Sevilla / 130 Almeria, in fulfillment of the Art in Public Places requirement for public art in private development (unanimously recommended by the Arts Advisory Panel approval/denial vote: 8 to 0; unanimously recommended by the Cultural Development Board approval/denial vote: 4 to 0).
Lobbyist: N/A
Body
Cade Capital Partners (the “Developer”) is constructing a development project, at 103 Sevilla / 130 Almeria (the “Project”). The Developer has chosen the option of petitioning for a waiver of the Art in Public Places Fee requirement by donating and installing artwork as specified in the Zoning Code, Article 9, Section 9-103 B.
The Developer selected Artist Alicja Kwade based on her international acclaim and specific suitability of her “Totem” series for outdoor installation and asked the Artist to proceed with a concept design proposal for the site. The Artist responded with a proposal of new work titled l’ordre des mondes (Totem), 2024.
Background of Artist:
Kwade’s internationally celebrated practice that spans sculpture, expansive public installation, film, photography and works on paper challenges scientific and philosophical concepts by dismantling the boundaries of perception. Her distinctive artistic language involves reflection, repetition, and the deconstruction and reconstruction of everyday objects and natural materials in an effort to explore the essence of our reality and to examine social structures. Often veering towards the absurd and transforming commonly accepted assumptions into open-ended questions, her poetic and mesmerizing oeuvre disrupts familiar systems and searches for new explanations to comprehend our world.
Kwade is represented in prominent public and private collections throughout the world. Over the past recent years, she has increasingly worked in the public realm, creating vast installations that respond to the architecture and the natural phenomena of various sites. Installations have included a commission to create a monumental installation for the Metropolitan Museum in New York, Au Cours Des Mondes on Place Vendome in Paris, participation at Desert X AlUla and an acclaimed presentation at the 57th Venice Biennale Viva Arte Viva, among others.
Description of artwork referenced from the concept proposal:
l'ordre des mondes (Totem) is a unique artwork and part of Kwade’s Totem series (2024). The sculpture features a towering vertical stack of chairs - everyday objects - interspersed with monumental stone spheres representing planets.
It explores the relationship between human existence (the domestic chair) and the vast universe (the planetary spheres).
The title references Piero Manzoni’s Socle du Monde (Base of the World), challenging the viewer to reflect on their relationship with the world.
l'ordre des mondes (Totem) will be approximately 22.3 feet high, set on a tall plinth, and fabricated in patinated bronze, lacquered bronze, and various natural stones (Macauba, Bianco Carrara, Alaska Red, Silesian marble, Wondergrey, Vasa, Rainforest Gold, Amadeus Granite, Masi, Alaska White, Calacatta Viola, Rosa Portogallo, Branco, Verde Guatemala, German Red).
The concept proposal is attached as Exhibit A to the proposed Resolution.
The cost of the proposed artwork is estimated at $470,500.00 (four hundred, seventy thousand, five hundred dollars). Funds toward the artwork should not replace expenses toward any lighting or infrastructure requirements for the project. The artwork and all related expenses for the art will be the responsibility of the Developer. Any difference in cost is to be issued as a check for deposit into the Art Acquisition Fund.
Furthermore, Developer is required to provide for the perpetual maintenance of the artwork, which will be realized as a one-time contribution of ten percent of the value of the artwork into a public art maintenance fund with the City.
The maintenance of the artwork, hereafter, will be the sole responsibility of the City, in accordance with the City of Coral Gables Art in Public Places: Funding, Goals, and Implementation Guidelines. The cost of annual maintenance is to be determined and will be assessed upon completion as minimal or extraordinary.
The Arts Advisory Panel and the Cultural Development Board voted unanimously to recommend the proposed artwork by artist Alicja Kwade at their respective meetings on January 7, 2026, and January 20, 2026.
Recommended Action
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