Title
A Resolution approving the concept for a donation of a work of public art to be sited in Balboa Plaza, in conjunction with Townhouse on Valencia project located at 444 Valencia Avenue and Beatrice Row, project located at 2509 Anderson Road 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: 5 to 0, and the Cultural Development Board approval/denial vote: 5 to 0)
Body
Torre Companies (the “Developer”) is constructing buildings at 444 Valencia Avenue and 2509 Anderson Road (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 to the City as specified in the Zoning Code, Article 3, Division 21.
The Developer selected Roberto Behar and Rosario Marquardt of R & R Studios (the “Artist”) to proceed with a concept design proposal for the artwork. Behar and Marquardt received their Diplomas in Architecture from the Universidad Nacional de Rosario in Argentina. Behar has been a visiting artist at the Getty Research Center in Los Angeles and received a Visual Arts Fellowship from the American Academy in Rome. He has been a visiting professor at Harvard University, Cornell, the University of Maryland, and is an Associate Professor at the University of Miami's School of Architecture. R & R Studios has created award winning landmark projects in Miami, Denver, Austin, and Phoenix, among others and their work has received numerous awards including recognition by Americans for the Arts as one of the best public art projects of 2007 and 2013.
The proposed artwork is a commissioned sculptural bench titled A Midsummer Night's Dream; in the Artist's words, it "is conceived as a social sculpture, a place of encounters and a stage for everyday life and stories to unfold." The artwork appears as an oversize sofa constructed of oolitic stone; measuring approx...
Click here for full text