Talk

The built environment has long been a source of inspiration to contemporary artists. From Gordon Matta-Clark’s abandoned building “cuts” to Doris Salcedos site-specific interventions and Dan Grahams Pavilions, artists have utilized architecture as a means to engage the public. This fall, Public Art Fund presents a series of talks by a new generation of artists whose work engages the built environment as both a point of departure and source of inspiration. Drawing on elements of architectural and design history—including Modernism, Brutalism, and even DIY construction—these artists address the psychological, social, and cultural significance of the urban landscape.

Oscar Tuazon’s large-scale sculptures and architectural interventions address architecture, minimalism, and utilitarian constructions of outsider communities. Comprised of a combination of natural and industrial elements, his structures deal with the structural limits of materials, creating tension with the spaces they inhabit. His new Public Art Fund exhibition, People, is on view at Brooklyn Bridge Park from July 18, 2012 to April 2013. The exhibition features three sculptures that respond to the park’s physical landscape and incorporate concrete and tree trunks.

Oscar Tuazon was born in 1975 in Seattle, and currently lives and works in Paris. He studied at the Cooper Union School of Art and attended the Whitney Museum of America Art Independent Study Program, New York. In 2011, he presented his work at the 54th Venice Biennale, and most recently, his work was included in the 2012 Whitney Biennial. Recent solo exhibitions include: The Power Station, Dallas (2011); Institute of Contemporary Arts, London, 2010; Künsthalle Bern (2010); Künstlerhaus Stuttgart (2010); Seattle Art Museum (2008); and the Palais de Tokyo, Paris (2007).

Public Art Fund Talks at The New School are organized by the Public Art Fund in collaboration with the Vera List Center for Art and Politics at The New School.