Fontainebleau’s original architect Morris Lapidus broke with the conventions of his times to create what he called “an architecture of joy”. Fontainebleau has since been recognized as a masterpiece of Modernist architecture, but Modernism with an edge, and with plenty of humor and plenty of art. Fontainebleau Miami Beach was honored and voted #1 in the Florida Association of the American Institute of Architects, “Florida Architecture: 100 Years, 100 Places”. Fontainebleau today follows Lapidus’ precedent by incorporating “cool and hot” examples of contemporary art as a part of its radical departure from the ordinary. Each work of art you see in Fontainebleau is unique, original, and site-specific. All the work has been integrated into the hotel’s total architecture and design to create a completely curated environment.
Featured artist this month:
Lonneke Gordijn Ralph Nauta
1980, Alkmaar, Netherlands 1978
Swindon, United Kingdom
So much of what mankind does is about mimicking nature or attempting to over-rule it. In the artists view, neither is possible. Lonneke Gordijn and Ralph Nauta’s chandelier creation, Fragile Future, aims to establish a point of balance between information overload and human sensibility. The goal is to create a dialogue between nature and technology, creating a new synergy. The hope is to encourage people to notice things that they no longer notice; to reach some kind of unconscious recognition that everyone instinctively feels and understands, yet have lost the time for.
“Think of the transience of a dandelion — one blow and it has gone. It is a plant familiar to every country and every culture, yet nobody really stops to look at it. In our increasingly technological world, I wanted to create something that could only be made by putting so much time and care into it; something that was not designed to be replaced by something else. The LED light seems a total contradiction, but in fact it is the same size as the normal dandelion stem and matches it perfectly. People said to use real dandelions was not possible and not practical, but the change of context makes people look again and see the plant in all its beauty for the first time”.
— Lonneke Gordijn
“Light is an important aspect of our work, but it is used as a material or an ingredient not as illumination. The Fragile Future chandelier is not about being able to see in the dark — it is about conveying emotion and referencing the fact that light is the basis of all life. It is also a piece that needs to be nurtured and cared for in order to preserve its aesthetics and continue to enjoy it, and that too was important to us”.
— Ralph Nauta
More of our iconic on property art pieces can be found at fontainebleau.com/art.
