Jorge Pardo, Untitled

UPPER LEVEL

Jorge Pardo

The creative force behind this 96 lamp site-specific work, Cuban-American artist Jorge Pardo is the recipient of such distinguished awards as the MacArthur Fellowship Award; the Smithsonian American Art Museum Lucelia Artist Award; and the Louis Comfort Tiffany Foundation Award. Best known for his explorations at the juncture of functionalism and aesthetics, Pardo often transforms everyday objects into works of fine art.

With his untitled installation for Aventura Mall, the 96 lamps present as butterflies, combining essential practicality, ethereal allure, and architectural detail. Suspended at alternating heights under an expansive glass dome, the ceramic butterflies float delicately above viewers, framed by the skies above. The result is that a source of illumination becomes a striking sculpture and the lines between indoors and out are blurred in a celebration of nature and life.

Commenting on the installation, Pardo noted: "A lot of people want to take pictures of themselves in front of the butterflies. In that sense it's really cool, because it works like a traditional monument." Indeed, perhaps viewers are moved to capture the undiluted joy this work so fully exudes.