Wish Towers marks the return of the Contemporary Arts Program to Vizcaya. Inspired by the native coral limestone that was used extensively in the creation of the gardens, Jaime and Javier Suárez explore how art and nature intersect at Vizcaya. They have created a modular sculpture made of fossilized coral collected from Puerto Rico’s shores. The sun-bleached coral is turned into unique pieces that link together, creating vertical structures described by the artists as stalagmites. Functioning as a nurturing vessel for mangrove propagules that can be watered with public participation, Jaime and Javier’s installation responds to the ongoing challenges posed by climate change, including sea level rise and increases in seawater temperature, and thus honoring Vizcaya’s commitment to environmental sustainability.
Twin brothers Jaime and Javier Suárez Berrocal were born in Columbus, Ohio, in 1982 and raised in Puerto Rico, where they were exposed to ceramics, woodworking and fishing from an early age. Their passion for the arts and the ocean guides their interest in environmental forms of expression. They create artistic interventions in nature to bring awareness to ecological concerns, define cultural identity, inspire a feeling of belonging and encourage responsibility for the natural world around us. They completed a BA in Fine Art at the University of Puerto Rico (2007 and 2008) and obtained MFA degrees in Artistic Production with a focus on Public Art (2010) from the Universidad Politécnica de Valencia, Spain. They live in Puerto Rico and work collaboratively, guided by the tenets of their artistic manifesto, VientreCompartido (SharedWomb).
The Contemporary Arts Program (CAP) is supported by The Danielson Foundation, the Miami-Dade County Mayor and Board of County Commissioners, as well as anonymous donors; and is sponsored in part by the State of Florida, Department of State, Division of Arts and Culture, the Florida Council on Arts and Culture, and the National Endowment for the Arts.
Join Puerto Rican artists Jaime and Javier Suárez Berrocal and Vizcaya’s Horticulture Team for the last day of the “Wish Towers” exhibition.
Discover how mangrove propagules are nurtured in the site-specific installation and learn more about this native tree that lives off the shores of Vizcaya’s coast. During this day program, Vizcaya’s Horticulture Team will demonstrate how to plant mangrove seedlings. This program is FREE with admission.
GET TICKETSJoin us for Nature Talks at Vizcaya – a lecture series that continues relevant and topical conversations surrounding our special contemporary art exhibition, Wish Towers. Through this series, we hope to expand awareness of Vizcaya’s natural landscape, the effects of climate change, and Florida’s environment from the perspective of different field experts.
Click below to learn more and get tickets.
Through this lecture series, we hope to expand awareness of Vizcaya’s natural landscape, the effects of climate change, and Florida’s environment from the perspective of different field experts.
Cynthia Barnett illuminates the beauty and wonder of seashells as well as human ingenuity and scientific solutions they represent for the warming world.
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Through this lecture series, we hope to expand awareness of Vizcaya’s natural landscape, the effects of climate change, and Florida’s environment from the perspective of different field experts.
Uzi Baram presents the shifting seascape’s destruction of archaeological and historical sites and offer long-term perspectives on human adaptation and maladaptation to environmental changes.
Click below to learn more and get tickets.
Contemporary Arts Program Returns to Vizcaya: Wish Towers Installation Celebrates the Natural Environment in Honor of Garden Centennial
