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A Resolution of the City Commission approving the concept for a work of public art titled “Waiting” by Brian Donnelly, as KAWS, in conjunction with The Plaza Coral Gables development project at 2901 Ponce De Leon Boulevard in fulfillment of the Art in Public Places requirement for public art in private development (previously proposed work by the artist unanimously recommended by the Arts Advisory Panel approval/denial vote: 7 to 0,; proposed work unanimously recommended by the Cultural Development Board approval/denial vote: 6 to 0).
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Agave Plaza Trustee Living (the “Developer”) is constructing a mixed-use project at 2901 Ponce de Leon Boulevard, The Plaza (the “Project”). The Developer has chosen the option of petitioning for a waiver of the Art in Public Places Fee requirement by acquiring and installing artwork within the project as specified in the Zoning Code, Article 3, Division 21.
The Agave development team worked collaboratively with the Skarstedt Gallery on the commissioning of an artwork by KAWS. With the developments’ specific goal of providing local families an outdoor space to entertain and spend time together, the KAWS art sculpture with its modern and friendly nature will welcome residents and visitors with a clear signal that these gardens together with the public plaza, is a contemporary, first-class cosmopolitan place
while being approachable, inclusive, and fun.
The sculpture “Waiting” by KAWS is presented to the viewer with a sense of formality. Bearing resemblance to parent and child, the figures stand, unflinching - a protective hand resting on the small figure’s shoulder - as if prepared for a portrait. An interpretation of his COMPANION character, “Waiting” has also been created in an all-black, 16-foot bronze iteration as a public sculpture outside Detroit’s Library Street Collection Museum and in the brown colorway installed in front of The Greenpoint in Brooklyn, NY. The proposed piece for The Plaza Coral Gables, will be the third and final piece of the 16’ “Waiting” finished in a grey colorway.
The cast-bronze sculpture is 144 inches tall and sits on a rectangular pedestal that is one-foot high. Situated in the main center stage area of the south lawn and facing NE toward the grass area, water feature, and ultimately Ponce Circle Park, the pieces is visible from every location around the Plaza and serves as another welcome sign seen as far as Ponce de Leon Boulevard.
Brooklyn-based artist KAWS engages audiences beyond museum and the galleries in which he exhibits. Over the last two decades KAWS has built a successful career with work that consistently shows his formal agility as an artist, as well as his underlying wit, irreverence, and affection for our times. The nature of his work possesses a sophisticated humor and thoughtful interplay with consumer products and collaborations with global brands. He often draws inspiration and appropriates pop-culture animations to form a unique artistic vocabulary for his works across various mediums. Now admired for his larger-than-life sculptures and hardedge paintings that emphasize line and color, KAWS' cast of hybrid cartoon and human characters are perhaps the strongest examples of his exploration of humanity.
KAWS has exhibited extensively throughout the United States and internationally, at the Brooklyn Museum, Doha Fire Station Museum, National Gallery of Victoria Melbourne, Museum of Contemporary Art Detroit, High Museum of Art, Yorkshire Sculpture Park in England, the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth, the Yuz Museum in Shanghai, and more.
The concept proposal is attached as Exhibit A to the proposed Resolution.
The cost of the proposed art piece and installation is estimated to be $2,056,750 (two million, fifty-six thousand, seven hundred fifty dollars) which is less than the required 1% of the Project’s total art in public places fee estimate of $4,100,000 (four million, one hundred thousand dollars). The Developer has received approval of additional artworks and this artwork will complete the developer’s requirement regarding Art in Public Places.
The Arts Advisory Panel and the Cultural Development Board voted unanimously to recommend artwork by the artist KAWS at their respective meetings on August 25, 2021, September 21, 2021 and November 16, 2021.
The Developer is required to provide for the perpetual maintenance of the artwork, which will be the sole responsibility of the Developer, in accordance with a restrictive covenant entered into with the City of Coral Gables and following the Art in Public Places: Funding, Goals, and Implementation Guidelines.