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A Resolution of the City Commission approving the City Manager to enter into an agreement with the Estate of Frank Stella for acquisition of artwork by the artist Frank Stella and approving integration of the artwork into the design of the Fred B. Hartnett Ponce Circle Park project (recommended by the Cultural Development Board approval/denial vote: 5 to 2); and authorizing an amendment to the Fiscal Year 2024-2025 amended budget to recognize a transfer of $2,040,000 from the art in public places reserve as revenue, and appropriating such funds to put toward the project.
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[The City Commission has consistently expressed interest in building the public art collection with significant artworks created by prominent, world-renowned artists.
On December 20, 2022, the Cultural Development Board made a motion recommending infrastructure to support installation of public artwork within Ponce Circle Park.
Since 2022, the Arts Advisory Panel and Cultural Development Board have consistently supported installing prominent artwork within Ponce Circle Park and dedicating substantial public art funds for this purpose.
On March 28, 2023, the City Commission approved requesting a proposal for artwork from notable American artist Frank Stella.
Staff pursued proposals from various sources and did not find a viable artwork that met material, size, maintenance, and budgetary criteria for an artwork by Frank Stella. Through the City Manager, staff continued research for artworks that might comply.
Following the passing of the artist in 2024, the city was put in contact with the Estate of Frank Stella, who offered a significant, monumental piece made from a material friendly to South Forida and with a budget that aligned with the city’s intent of installing prominent artwork within Fred B. Hartnett Ponce Circle Park.
About the artwork:
“Puffed and Inverted Star II” is made up of geometric shapes forming points that result in a large-scale star, a form the artist is known for. Artist Frank Stella first used the star motif 60 years ago, departing from it, and expanding on it in his later years.
“Puffed and Inverted Star II” is constructed of aluminum and stands over 17 feet in height and circumference. It is recommended that the piece be installed on a raised plinth with landscaping surrounding the work.
About the artist:
Frank Stella was born in 1936 in Massachusetts and recently passed away in 2024 at the age of 87. Since his first solo gallery exhibition at Leo Castelli Gallery in 1960, Stella has exhibited widely throughout the U.S. and abroad. Stella is a noted American painter, sculptor, and printmaker best known for his work in areas of minimalism and abstraction. Early in his career, his work was included in several noteworthy 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 recommended installation site is within Fred B. Hartnett Ponce Circle Park, on the north end of the park. The proposed location will anchor the park and complement nearby public artworks within private development sites.
While design and restoration of the park proceeds, the artwork is proposed for storage within the city.
Funding for acquisition, packing, transportation, and delivery is estimated at $2,040,000. The artwork will require a foundation and raised plinth that will be funded separately along with installation, lighting, signage, and landscaping.
The cost of annual maintenance is anticipated to be minimal and is proposed through use of the general fund as ordinary maintenance.
The Cultural Development Board voted in favor (7-5) to recommend acquiring the artwork “Puffed and Inverted Star II” from the Estate of Frank Stella at their meeting on April 7, 2025.
An amendment to the Fiscal Year 2024-2025 Amended Budget is required to recognize a transfer in the amount of $2,040,000 from the Art in Public Places reserve as revenue and to appropriate the funds to be used towards the project.
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