Title
A Resolution of the City Commission requesting a proposal for artwork with an all-inclusive budget of $1.25 million from the artist Frank Stella (recommended by the Cultural Development Board approval/denial vote: 5 to 0).
(Lobbyist: N/A)
Body
The City Commission has consistently expressed interest in building the public art collection with significant artworks created by prominent, world-renowned artists.
On December 14, 2022, the Arts Advisory panel discussed Mayor Lago’s interest in acquiring work by the artist Frank Stella, including appropriate locations and pricing. It was agreed that a work by an artist of his stature would require a significant budget and should be prominently placed. Continuing their discussion, they expressed interest in engaging with other artists and agreed that an opportunity of this magnitude could be offered to Frank Stella, Wangechi Mutu, and Hernan Bas.
On December 20, 2022, the Cultural Development Board were advised of the Panel’s discussion and the Board requested a formal recommendation from the Arts Advisory Panel.
On January 11, 2023, in response to the Cultural Development Board’s request, the Arts Advisory Panel discussed the price range of Frank Stella artworks provided by his gallery and made a motion to the Cultural Development Board recommending that the City request proposals for a major artwork from artists Frank Stella, Wangechi Mutu, and Hernan Bas with a budget of $750,000.00 (seven hundred fifty thousand dollars).
On March 8, 2023, the Cultural Development Board reviewed and did not accept the recommendation of the Arts Advisory Panel. The Cultural Development Board discussed the scope of the project, recognizing the Panel’s support of Frank Stella, and made a motion to the City Commission recommending a proposal for artwork valued at 1.25m (one million, two hundred and twenty-five hundred thousand dollars) from Frank Stella.
About the artist:
Frank Stella was board in 1936 in Massachusetts and currently lives and works in New York City. Since his first solo gallery exhibition at Leo Castelli Gallery in 1960, Stella has exhibited widely throughout the U.S. and abroad. Early in his career, his work was included in a number of significant exhibitions that defined the art of the postwar era.
Frank Stella’s work can be found in the public collections of the Art Institute of Chicago, IL; Baltimore Museum, MD; Brooklyn Museum, NY; Cleveland Art Museum, OH; Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.; Dallas Museum of Art, TX; Denver Art Museum, CO; High Museum of Art, GA; Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Washington, D.C.; Los Angeles County Museum of Art, CA; The Metropolitan Museum of Art, NY; Museum of Fine Arts, MA; The Museum of Modern Art, NY; National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.; Pérez Art Museum, FL; The Saint Louis Art Museum, MO; Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, NY; Whitney Museum of American Art, NY; and internationally at the Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto, Canada; The Hara Museum of Contemporary Art, Tokyo, Japan; Kunstmuseum, Basel, Switzerland; Moderna Museet, Stockholm, Sweden; Musée National d’Art Moderne, Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris, France; Museum Moderner Kunst Stiftung Ludwig, Vienna, Austria; Nationalgalerie, Berlin, Germany; National Gallery of Australia, Canberra, Australia; Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam, Netherlands; The Tate, London, UK; among other notable institutions and museums.
The Cultural Development Board voted unanimously (5-0) to recommend requesting a proposal with an all-inclusive budget of $1.25m from the artist Frank Stella at their meeting on March 8, 2023.
Recommended Action
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