The City of Coral Gables is introducing its newest permanent public art installation on Giralda Plaza, featuring spherical shapes of sculptures that remind us of living and breathing pieces of coral and sea organisms of the underwater world.
A dedication ceremony for “Coral Forest” and “Secret of the Seas,” hand-sculpted white Italian Carrara marble pieces by artist Sibylle Pasche, will take place on Wednesday, Nov. 28, 5:30 p.m., at Giralda Plaza on Galiano Street. The event is open free to the public.
“Coral Forest” is a group of three sculptures marking the east entrance of Giralda Plaza while “Secret of the Seas” is a solitary sculpture at the west entrance.
“The sculpted Carrara marble is a stunning material and brings a cool feel of the sea to the Streetscape project,” said Dona Spain, director of the city’s Historical Resources and Cultural Arts Department.
The organic shapes of the sculptures reflect the circular motion of the pavement pattern and are inspired by the earthy colors and outlines in the sand, the ocean and Florida skies. This contemporary artwork complements the sophisticated character of Giralda Plaza.
D.M. Joiner, Lovick P. Corn Professor of Art History, writes of Pasche’s affinity for Carrara marble and style: “Pasche utilizes this fine material in a distinctive manner, nodding to the Modernist legacy of, among others, Barbara Hepworth, Beverly Pepper, Marino Marini, Henry Moore, Tony Cragg, Louise Bourgeoris, and Anish Kapoor.
“Preferring rounded shapes, oriented horizontally rather than vertically, she lends the inherently weighty stone not only a lustrous, light-spilling surface but also ‘an optical lightness,’” Joiner added.
“I see my sculptures as anchor points of stability and timeless values,” Pasche said. “They are tangible, earthbound and everlasting.”
Pasche, who is based in Switzerland, was selected for this Art in Public Places project and is a highly respected artist with public and private collections and gallery exhibits in Europe, Asia, and the Americas.
This project is funded through Art Acquisition Funds totaling $298,500.
