MARK DI SUVERO

(AMERICAN, BORN 1933)

Bornibus, 1985–87
steel, cable
192 x 324 x 216 inches
Laumeier Sculpture Park Collection, gift of the Athena Foundation

Mark di Suvero’s monumental steel composition, Bornibus, 1985–87, dominates the Museum Lawn as if having broken out of the confines of the museum interior. Having a background in building construction, the use of a crane allowed di Suvero to approach the installation in a more organic and expressive way, permitting him to guide and articulate the balance and tension of the heavy metal shapes. Using industrial materials, he breaks down the urban infrastructure within the back garden as a commentary on the friction between the urban and the rural. The moments in the composition of Bornibus where the shapes dangle in the wind illustrate the fragility of man-made structures when opposed to the force of nature.

Sculpture Interaction Guideline: Look, But Do Not Touch

ARTIST BIOGRAPHY

American artist Mark di Suvero was born in Shanghai, China, in 1933. He immigrated with his family to the United States in 1941. Di Suvero earned his B.A. in philosophy from the University of California, Berkeley, in 1957. While studying philosophy, he began pursuing sculpture and became recognized for his massive architectural sculptures. Di Suvero has been the recipient of several awards, including the National Medal of the Arts from the White House in 2010, the Lifetime Achievement Award from the International Sculpture Center in 2000, the Smithsonian Archives of American Art Medal in 2010 and the Heinz Award in the Arts and Humanities in 2005. His work has been exhibited in galleries and museums including the Whitney Museum of American Art and Gagosian Gallery, New York; Storm King Art Center, Mountainville, New York; and the Hiroshima Museum of Contemporary Art, Japan. Di Suvero participated in Documenta IV in Kassel, Germany in 1968 and the Whitney Biennial in New York in 2006. His work is represented in numerous collections, including the Daimler Art Collection, Potsdamer Platz, Berlin; the Denver Art Museum; the Moderna Museet, Stockholm; the Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago; the Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles; the Museum of Modern Art, New York; the National Gallery of Australia, Canberra; the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art; and the Technopôle Brest-Iroise, France. In 2003, Laumeier mounted a solo exhibition of di Suvero’s work entitled Dragons in the Sky.

Visit www.spacetimecc.com for more information.