Framing the dramatic art and architecture of the Park, Interconnected: The Sculptures of Yvonne Domenge will enhance one of Chicago's most popular public spaces-Millennium Park. Admission to the Park and the exhibition is free.
Interconnected: The Sculptures of Yvonne Domenge is presented by the Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events and Millennium Park, in cooperation with Millennium Park, Inc., and is sponsored by The Boeing Company and Mexico's CONACULTA (The National Council for the Arts and Culture), the Chicago Office of Tourism and Culture, with support from the Richard H. Driehaus Foundation, the National Museum of Mexican Art, and the Consulate General of Mexico.
Yvonne Domenge's fascination with organic shapes, form and geometry will be evident in the four pieces of colorful artwork created specifically for Millennium Park. One of the pieces will be placed in the North Boeing Gallery while the other three will be installed in the South Boeing Gallery.
The largest piece, a bronze sculpture painted bright red entitled Tree of Life, measures approximately 16 feet tall and will sit in the North Boeing Gallery, along with two companion seeds measuring four feet wide by nine feet high. An age-old concept, the tree of life is a symbol of the connection between the underworld, the sky, and the terrestrial world in pre-Columbian cultures. The tree symbolizes life's energy, and the seeds scattered beneath represent the beauty and fragility of new life.
The South Boeing Gallery will boast three steel spheres, Tabachin Ribbon, a 13 foot tall yellow sculpture; Wind Waves, a white sculpture measuring approximately 11 feet high and Coral, in blue, approximately 10 feet high. Domenge's spheres defy gravity and space, conveying a rhythmic beauty and a sense of a larger universal order.
Yvonne Domenge was born in Mexico City in 1946. She studied plastic arts at the Outremont School in Montreal, Canada, at the Corcoran School of Art, Washington, D.C., and in Mexico City. Working in materials as diverse as wood, stone, clay, marble, cement, steel, porcelain, silver, and resin, Domenge has had more than 40 solo shows and participated in nearly 200 group exhibitions in cities across Mexico, the United States, Canada, Europe, and China, including the Musee du Louvre in Paris. Her sculpture Lily recently won a gold medal at the Olympic Landscape Sculpture Design Contest in Beijing, China, and her work was selected to represent Mexico for the International Sculpture Biennale in Vancouver, Canada.
The National Museum of Mexican Art and DePaul University will host a free presentation with Yvonne Domenge on Wednesday, April 6, 2011 at 5:30 p.m. Domenge will discuss her body of work with Professor Bibiana Suarez at DePaul University Museum, South Gallery, 2350 N. Kenmore, Chicago. Reservations are required; please call 312-738-1503 x 3947.
Millennium Park is located in the heart of downtown Chicago. It is bordered by Michigan Ave. to the west, Columbus Dr. to the east, Randolph St. to the north and Monroe St. to the south. The Boeing Galleries are located along Millennium Park's midlevel terraces, just east of Michigan Avenue. Millennium Park is open every day from 6 a.m. to 11 p.m.
Millennium Park is an award-winning center for art, music, architecture, and landscape design. The result of a unique partnership between the City of Chicago and the philanthropic community, the 24.5-acre park features the work of world-renowned architects, planners, artists and designers. Among Millennium Park's prominent features are the Frank Gehry-designed Jay Pritzker Pavilion, the most sophisticated outdoor concert venue of its kind in the United States; the interactive Crown Fountain by Jaume Plensa; the contemporary Lurie Garden designed by the team of Gustafson Guthrie Nichol, Piet Oudolf and Robert Israel; and Anish Kapoor's hugely popular Cloud Gate sculpture. Since its opening in July 2004, Millennium Park has hosted more than 24 million people, making it one of the most popular destinations in Chicago.
The Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events is dedicated to promoting an ongoing celebration of the arts and supporting the people who create and sustain them.
For more information about Interconnected: The Sculptures of Yvonne Domenge and Millennium Park, call 312.742.1168 or visit www.millenniumpark.org.
