26th October 2023
London, UK
Lara Bohinc took over the Miami Design District in December 2023 with her winning concept for Miami Design District commission titled Utopia – an immersive installation of functional sculptures that realise a vision of sustainable urban living, creating public spaces where people and nature harmoniously coexist.
The other-worldly installations are made from cork and were unveiled in November 2023 around Paseo Ponti in the Design District, ahead of Miami Art Week. Having been awarded the 2023 Commission by Miami Design District, in collaboration with Design Miami/Curatorial Lab, Bohinc’s sculptures also greeted visitors at the entrance of the international collectible design fair Design Miami from 5th December 2023.
Utopia is Bohinc Studio’s first public commission in the US and spans four installations featuring irregular, bulbous forms reminiscent of growing cellular organisms and lifeforms. Friendly and dynamic, the sculptures are suggestive of living objects, mushrooming across the district with their kind yet mysterious presence.
The colourful and tactile sculptures include outdoor seaters, tables, and imposing 3 metre tall light sculptures, placed within proximity to create intimate and comforting resting places. A constellation of nine hundred egg-shaped birdhouses will be interspersed among the trees, providing colourful refuge and shade for local wildlife. Echoing the function of the birdhouses, a giant, centrepiece 2 metre tall egg-like piece provides a playful hideout for small children. At night, the solar-powered sculptures come to life, creating an atmospheric luminous glow.
Painted by hand in vibrant pastel hues of pistachio, raspberry, lavender, cherry blossom and powder blue, Bohinc’s designs pay homage to Miami’s architectural colour palette and bring elements of playfulness, functionality and comfort to the outdoor areas that the installations inhabit. With a focus on environmental issues, Bohinc’s pieces are made from cork – a natural, waterproof and environmentally friendly material, native to Portugal, constructed with the assistance of a 5D robotic milling machine and completed by hand.
The thought-provoking sculptures invite passers-by to interact with their functional forms, which conceptualise a utopian future that questions how we might better engage with the natural world. Intermingling with the District’s walkways and enlivening the public spaces as a place to convene, the organic objects become a living thread, engaging with the native trees and architecture to create a place of reflection for visitors.
Lara Bohinc said, “I am honored to be awarded Miami Design District's Annual Design Commission this year. This is my largest work to date and my first public commission in the U.S.A. It has been a wonderful process creating these organic and colorful forms for this Installation, and truly rewarding to see them come to life in such a sustainable way. I’m proud to be a part of Design Miami/ Curatorial Lab's esteemed group of commissioned designers, and can't wait to finally see Utopia come to life in the Miami Design District as well as Design Miami/.”
Grela Orihuela, Senior Vice President, Fairs, Design Miami/ said, “It was a true pleasure to join forces with the Miami Design District and, through Design Miami/ Curatorial Lab, invite artists and designers to share their proposals to transform the Design District with an immersive installation during Art Week this December. We received innovative and thought-provoking submissions from around the world and look forward with great anticipation to seeing the wonderfully talented work of this year’s nominated designer, Lara Bohinc, come to life in the Miami Design District and at our flagship fair in Miami Beach.”
Craig Robins, President and CEO of DACRA said, "Art possesses an extraordinary power to transfigure our surroundings, and this year, in partnership with the exceptional talent of Lara Bohinc, our installation promises to be nothing short of mesmerizing. As we embrace the convergence of creativity, culture, and urban design, by offering a dynamic platform for artists to reshape our landscape, we also continue to elevate our community and strengthen Miami’s ever evolving art scene.”
The Miami Design District Commission, an annual initiative in its 9th year, which invites creatives to enliven the public neighbourhood within the district at a time of the year where the communities of art and design convene in the city for Miami Art Week, will remain publicly installed until mid-2024.
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