Collins Park

The works on view in Collins Park, presented by The Bass, evoke poetry and nature, while exploring themes like the effects of consumer culture, climate change and lost love. Rondinone’s totemic Miami Mountain (2016) and Weiner’s text-based SHELLS USED TO BUILD ROADS POURED UPON SHELLS USED TO PAY THE WAY, AT THE LEVEL OF THE SEA (2008) directly address the museum’s ocean-front context in Miami Beach, referencing its topography and adjacency to rising sea levels. Sylvie Fleury’s neon Eternity Now (2015) borrows from designer fragrance branding to call attention the city’s propensity toward material perfection, while also speaking to climate issues.

Installed at the museum’s reflecting pool on Park Avenue and 22nd Street, the newly acquired Too Much I Once Lamented (2019) by Susan Philipsz vocalizes a song dating from 1622 by Welsh composer Thomas Tomkins, which recalls the laments of a heartbroken lover. Using her own voice, the artist creates a madrigal song structure overlaying her recordings of the five parts to evoke solitude, isolation and longing–feelings, which have particular relevance during these times.

Promoting a sense of connectivity, Jim Drain’s Chess Tables (2014) solicits a participatory call to action and activity. In addition, a new work by Karen Rifas titled Hang in There (2020) occupies the 32 light pole banners encompassing the park’s perimeter, transforming advertising space into colorful, geometric artworks inspired by the surrounding architecture and environment.

Encompassing nearly 14,000 square feet, Abraham Cruzvillegas’ newly commissioned sculptural installation Agua dulce (2020) brings the artist's philosophy of autoconstrucción or “self-construction,” a practice of resilience and generosity, to Collins Park. Utilizing numerous species of flora, fauna and mineral; performers mimicking native birds; and seating that the artist constructed with locally sourced materials, Agua dulce forms a plant environment in front of the museum, free for the public to enjoy.