Title
A Resolution of the City Commission approving the purchase and installation of the sculpture “A Perfect Place” by José Bedia (recommended by the Arts Advisory Panel, approval/denial vote: 7 to 0, and the Cultural Development Board approval/denial vote: 6 to 0); authorizing an amendment to the Fiscal Year 2023-2024 amended budget to recognize as revenue a transfer from the Art in Public Places reserve, and appropriating such funds to put toward the purchase cost, transportation, installation, and related expenses.
Lobbyist: N/R
Body
Fredric Snitzer Gallery approached the city with a proposal to purchase the artwork “A Perfect Place” by artist José Bedia.
About the artist:
José Bedia is a renowned Cuban artist living and working in Miami. Early on he excelled in drawing, illustration, and draftsmanship, which led him to create large-scale paintings, drawings, and sculptures.
Bedia’s work reflects the artist’s interest in anthropological studies on Afro-Transatlantic cultures including the religious beliefs of the Artist. His imagery has strong storytelling aspects informed by ancestral cultures and the influence of popular cultures.
His work has been exhibited in Havana, Sao Paulo, Venice, and Bejing Biennales and his artworks are in prominent private and public collections including the Museum of Modern Art, The Metropolitan, Whitney, Guggenheim, Tate Modern, the Smithsonian, and more.
About the artwork:
“A Perfect Place”, 2001, is a large-scale public artwork spanning 23 feet across and 20 feet high. It is a unique, singular artwork of steel, telephone poles, and hardware. The artwork is currently on loan and installed at the Bass Museum of Art.
The sculpture represents Miami as a reclining figure in a hammock and presents a projection of the Artist’s animal alter-ego face, an important symbol used frequently in the Artist’s work. The piece further represents the duality of the human character and animal spirit.
Prior to presentation to the...
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