the radiant
Ugo Rondinone

13 October 2018 – 31 December 2023

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The stone figure is the most archetypal representation of the human form; an elemental symbol of the human spirit, connected to the earth yet mythic in the imagination. The stone figure for Malta, titled the radiant, shows the human figure in the most elemental and archaic form, using the most ancient material, stone. The bluestone is rough-cut into blocks and stacked one over another to form the human figure. The methods by which the stone has been worked are apparent to the viewer and not obscured by subsequent handling. Drill-holes and split structures are visible traces of the work in the quarry where the blocks were taken from the ground. The work allows the stones to be what they are: heavy, coarse, and marked by wind and weather.

“I dedicate the radiant to the children of Malta – the future belongs to them.” Ugo Rondinone

Ugo Rondinone’s the radiant was unveiled during the MICAS International Art Weekend 2018.

PLAN YOUR VISIT

Location:Sa Maison Gardens, Sa Maison Street, Floriana
Admission: Free. Booking is not required
Viewing times:
1st October to 31st March: Monday to Sunday, 07:00 to 17:00
1st April to 30th September: Monday to Sunday, 07:00 to 19:00
Enquiries: info@micas.art

Image: Ugo Rondinone, the radiant, 2018. Medium: bluestone, concrete, steel. Location: Sa Maison Garden, Floriana, Malta. 
Photo credit: Sean Mallia.  Courtesy of Malta International Contemporary Art Space, Studio Rondinone.

About the Artist

Ugo Rondinone was born in 1964 in Brunnen, Switzerland and currently lives and works in New York. Rondinone has been the subject of recent solo exhibitions at institutions including: Fundación Casa Wabi, Puerto Escondido, Mexico; Arken Museum of Modern Art, Ishøj, Denmark; Bass Museum of Art, Miami; Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive, Berkeley, California; Contemporary Arts Center, Cincinnati, Ohio; Garage Museum of Contemporary Art, Moscow; Place Vendôme, Paris; MACRO and Mercati di Traiano, Rome; The Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston; Carré d’Art, Nîmes, France; Museum Boijmans van Beuningen, Rotterdam; Museum Anahuacalli, Mexico City; Rockbund Art Museum, Shanghai; M Museum, Leuven, Belgium; Museum of Cycladic Art, Athens; Kunsthistorisches Museum Wien, Vienna; and Museum Dhondt-Dhaenens, Deurle, Belgium.

In 2016, Rondinone’s large-scale public work seven magic mountains opened outside Las Vegas, co-produced by the Art Production Fund and Nevada Museum of Art. The following year, Rondinone curated a city-wide exhibition, “Ugo Rondinone: I ♥ John Giorno,” which was presented at Artists Space, High Line Art, Howl! Happening, Hunter College Art Galleries, the Kitchen, New Museum, Red Bull Arts New York, Rubin Museum of Art, Sky Art, Swiss Institute, White Columns and 80WSE Gallery, all in New York.

Photo credit Christian Grund.  Courtesy of Rondinone Studio.

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