uros

15 december presentation | thru 14 january 2012 | click > enlarge

tribeca Issey Miyake unveils Uros Thursday, 15 December, a lighting sculpture installation from a recent series of works by Peruvian artist Grimanesa Amorós.



Amorós recently represented Peru at the 54th Biennale di Venezia at the Fondazione Claudio Buziol as part of Future Pass, a traveling exhibition curated by Victoria Lu that will also show at Rotterdam’s Wereld museum, the National Taiwan Art Museum in Taichung and the Beijing Art Museum in China. Uros Island, isher light sculpture that encapsulates the floating islands in Lake Titicaca in Puno, Peru. Notable public art by Amorós includes Uros House, an installation in Times Square New York as part of the 2011 Armory Show.

When Amorós was a child living on the coast of Peru, she always loved the beauty of the ocean; everything from the tides to the colors, to the bubbles and the foam.




Off the coast of Puno, Peru are the Uros Islands. They are floating islets made of totora reeds grown in Lake Titicaca. The pre-Incan Uros, who live on these forty-two self-fashioned floating islands, build everything out of this material -from houses to boats to watch towers. From these two ideas, Amorós created Uros to reflect the natural elegance of sea foam and totora reeds. The sculpture will seemingly arise from the ground as if it were one with the earth.

Grimanesa Amorós (born in Lima, Peru) is an interdisciplinary artist with diverse interests in the fields of social history, scientific research and critical theory, which have greatly influenced her work. She makes use of sculpture, video, and lighting to create works that illuminate our notions of personal identity and community. Most known for her public art, particularly her light sculptures, she uses her art as an agent for empowerment to involve viewers from all different backgrounds and communities.

Amorós has exhibited internationally in the United States, Europe, Asia and Latin America, and is the recipient of several grants, which include the National Endowment for the Arts Visual Artist Fellowship (Washington, DC), The Travel Grant Fund for Artists, NEA Arts International (New York, NY), and The Bronx Museum for the Arts: Aim Program (Bronx, NY), among many others.

tribeca Issey Miyake, opened in 2001, is celebrating its 10-year anniversary as the site for the Miyake US headquarters and flagship store carrying all Issey Miyake collections. Featuring a titanium “intervention” or sculpture by Frank Gehry that winds its way through the space, tribeca Issey Miyake acts as a retail store, laboratory, and atelier; a place for new talent, the unexpected, and the excitement that lies within the power of creation. For these reasons, tribeca ISSEY MIYAKE often hosts up-and-coming and established artists, as well as lectures, and performances.

Uros runs 14 November – 14 January 2012.

Event: [ Grimanesa Amorós ] Uros, 2011, Light Sculpture Installation
Presentation: Thursday, December 15 | 7:30 PM – 9:30 PM
Venue: [ tribeca Issey Miyake ] 119 Hudson Street at N. Moore | New York City
Hours: Monday – Saturday 11am – 7pm | Sunday 12pm – 6pm ( December only )