Art Basel Miami Beach 2024

Art Basel Miami Beach 2024
Nova Sector – Booth N4
Iván Argote. “Wild Flowers, Augustus”

Albarrán Bourdais is delighted to take part in Art Basel Miami Beach for the first time, with a solo presentation by Iván Argote at Nova sector.

Argote’s immersive installation “Wild Flowers, Augustus” will feature a series of bronze sculptures reproducing body parts of Roman Emperor Augustus. The works, which act as flower pots for native and exotic species, are placed on an architectural installation made site-specific for the booth. Serving as both a staircase and bench, the installation invites visitors to interact with the body parts.

“Wild Flowers, Augustus” pursues the Argote’s reappropriating of historic figures, as a continuation of the artist’s celebrated installation for the 2024 Venice Biennale, with a replica of Columbus’ statue fallen and invaded by weeds and plants. It also connects to his monumental sculpture of a pigeon for the renowned Plinth Commission at the High Line in New York City, which was unveiled in October and humorously challenges the grandeur of traditional monuments celebrating significant historical figures.

For “Wild Flowers, Augustus”, Argote uses a statue of the Roman Emperor Augustus, who was the first emperor to bring an obelisk to Rome as a symbol of his conquest in Egypt. Parts of the statue, such as torso, pelvis, hands and feet, have been cast in bronze and hollowed out to function as flower pots for native plants and other exotic species available in local nurseries.

The installation is presented alongside Argote’s series of “Voyagers”, oil paintings on concrete slabs which feature a repertoire of plants classified as exotic invasive in several European countries. Ironically, many of these plants – such as the palm tree – are widespread in that environment, where they have been introduced to for centuries. With measures being taken to regulate and halt their spread, the plants act as symbols of otherness and resistance.