Beatriz Milhazes ?Aquarium? - Fondation Cartier pour l'art ...

and
present
Beatriz Milhazes
“Aquarium”
ART|42|BASEL|MIAMI BEACH|1-4|12|11
ART BASEL MIAMI BEACH

Beatriz Milhazes, Aquarium
The Fondation Cartier pour l’art
contemporain and Cartier present
Beatriz Milhazes Aquarium. As partner
of Art Basel for the past five years,
Cartier is presenting the artist Beatriz
Milhazes, whose work was exhibited
at the Fondation Cartier pour l’art
contemporain in Paris in 2009. For
ART|42|BASEL, Beatriz Milhazes has
imagined a singular work, a mobile
composed of pearls, precious and semiprecious
stones. Crafted by the Ateliers
Cartier, Aquarium is both a unique
installation and a work of jewelry of
unexpected dimensions. The space
displaying the mobile is designed to
resemble a jewel case and reveals
the sculpture’s finesse and surprising
lightness.
Internationally renowned for her paintings
and collages, in 2007, Beatriz Milhazes
created a theatrical set for the Marcia Milhazes
Dance Company. For the first time
in her career, the artist produced a threedimensional
structure, an installation composed
of suspended elements and simple
decorative patterns. This project was then
developed and readapted on several different
occasions according to the spaces in
which it was used—first in New York, then
in Basel at the Fondation Beyeler in January
2011. When the Cartier Foundation
commissioned Beatriz Milhazes to create
an artwork inspired by Cartier’s collection
of precious stones, the artist thus imagined
a mobile inspired by the patterns and colors
of her canvases and collages. This work
and
present
Beatriz Milhazes
“Aquarium”
ART|42|BASEL|MIAMI ART BASEL MIAMI BEACH|1-4|12|11
BEACH
quickly developed into a piece of monumental
size. Composed of 15 rods, with
the longest measuring nearly two meters,
Aquarium reinvents a new vocabulary, one
made of XXL pearls, spheres, and precious
discs. It is a veritable celestial and aquatic
treasure, both imposing and light, intricate
and overwhelming, inviting the spectator
to contemplate an ideal purity.
The mobile will be held in the Miami Design
District at the Collins Building, located
at 139 NE 39th Street (cross streets 39th
and NE 1st Court) Miami, Florida 33137.
Fondation Cartier pour l’art
contemporain Background
Founded in 1984, the Fondation Cartier
pour l’art contemporain is dedicated to
supporting and facilitating the development
of contemporary art forms and to
fostering awareness of these arts. As such,
it is a unique example of corporate philanthropy
in France. In fact, not content to
confine itself to ordinary patronage, the
Fondation Cartier has become a prime
mover in the world of contemporary artistic
creation. In 1994, after ten years
spent in Jouy-en-Josas near Versailles, the
Fondation Cartier moved into the airy
glass and steel building in central Paris
designed specially by Jean Nouvel, also
the creator of the Institut du Monde Arabe
and the Musée du Quai Branly. Famous in
France and internationally for his unique
way of dematerializing architecture,
Nouvel was presented the challenge by
Cartier of harmoniously bringing together
12,000 square feet of exhibition space and
six stories of offices on the Boulevard Raspail.
A lively place for discussions and exchanging
ideas, the Fondation has built up
steady relationships with artists, supporting
their work through exhibitions, as well
as through commissions and publications.
The Fondation is distinguished by the
many projects that, throughout its 24-year
history, it has developed in close collaboration
with both French and foreign artists.
Highlights on the Fondation Cartier’s
yearly calendar include, first of all, five
exhibitions, thematic or solo, which often
lead to commissioned works from artists;
secondly, a weekly event that is open to
one and all, the Nomadic Nights, initiated
in 1994, which turn the spotlight on the
theatrical and performance arts, dance,
music and literature; finally, the yearly acquisition
of additional pieces for the Fondation’s
collection, which currently boasts
1000 works by 300 different artists.
Press Contact
Matthieu Simonnet
matthieu.simonnet@fondation.cartier.com
Tel. +33 (0)1 42 18 56 77
Fondation Cartier pour l’art contemporain
261 boulevard Raspail F-75014 Paris
Tel. +33 (0)1 42 18 56 50
presse.fondation.cartier.com