Artist Marco Cochrane Debuts Bliss Project’s “R-Evolution™” for First Time in Florida on Lincoln Road with Official Lighting Ceremony Nov. 14
Just in time for Miami Art Week, Lincoln Road, the iconic outdoor shopping, dining and cultural destination situated in the heart of Miami Beach, announces the arrival of “R-Evolution,” a monumental 45-foot-tall, 32,000-pound kinetic sculpture that will glow in the sun and illuminate at night thanks to RGB LED lights. The towering nude female sculpture, which will be showcased on the East Coast for the first time, debuted at Burning Man in 2015. It was designed by Marco Cochrane, the artist behind monumental sculptures at the Smithsonian Art Museum and the $4.3 billion Resorts World Las Vegas.
“R-Evolution” will be displayed on the 400 Block of Lincoln Road starting November 14, 2023, through April 2024.
“R-Evolution” symbolizes feminine strength and liberation, featuring 16 motors in her chest to simulate breathing and demonstrate how her energy radiates into the world by involuntary forces. The sculpture was built by hand by Cochrane using a pantograph (a medieval enlargement tool) and classical sculpting techniques. The artist started with a life-size original, first enlarged to a 15-foot clay version, then to its final metal form. The completed 45-foot sculpture is made of steel rod and tubing utilizing two layers of geodesic triangles (necessitating 55,000 welds) covered by a stainless-steel mesh.
“R-Evolution” is the third and final sculpture in Cochrane’s “The Bliss Project” series, intended to catalyze social change by challenging bystanders to see past the sexual charge surrounding the female body. To actualize the series, Cochrane worked with singer, songwriter, dancer, model, humanitarian and farmer Deja Solis as a collaborator and model and called upon hundreds of volunteers to take part in the creation.
Lincoln Road
“Lincoln Road has been the epicenter of art and culture on Miami Beach since the 1960s and has strengthened since Art Basel began here more than 20 years ago,” said Anabel Llopis, executive director of the Lincoln Road Business Improvement District. “Every year, we curate game-changing exhibits that push the boundaries of what has been done on Lincoln Road, and we can’t wait to bring Marco Cochrane’s ‘R-Evolution’ to Miami Beach residents and visitors. Our mission is to be the largest public art museum and provide access and engagement with art to all. The piece will draw thousands to the destination with her energy and the magnitude of her presence. Being steps away from the most iconic art shows (Art Basel at the Miami Beach Convention Center and Design Miami), Lincoln Road will continue to serve as a premier hub for modern culture-seekers to discover free public outdoor art.”
Lincoln Road’s broad public walkway is embellished with splashing fountains, tropical gardens and an amphitheater, influenced by modernist architect Morris Lapidus, who was commissioned in 1960 to redesign the road by creating an art deco-style shopping esplanade. Located just steps from the Miami Beach Convention Center, Lincoln Road is the most-visited open-air destination in South Florida, with over 8 million visitors annually. Lincoln Road showcases free outdoor public art year-round, displaying permanent works and pop-up installations by famous local, national and international artists at every turn. Works include Dan Graham’s “Steel-and-Glass Concave,” a fun house-like homage to Lapidus; a mural inside H&M by local self-taught Cuban-American artist ABSTRK that bridges the gap between Miami Beach’s art deco architecture and the compositional lines of gestural graffiti; and a captivating work by contemporary artist Bradley Theodore on the exterior wall of Chotto Matte that celebrates the restaurant’s Peruvian roots with colorful icon depictions.
This exhibition continues the rich history of previous exhibitions on Lincoln Road, including 2020’s “Botero on Lincoln Road” public art show, a series of monumental bronze sculptures by world-renowned Colombian artist Fernando Botero, whose work has been showcased in famous destinations such as the Champs-Élysées in Paris, Yebisu Garden Place in Tokyo, the Lustgarten in Berlin and Park Avenue in New York City, and 2022’s open-air activation featuring bright, geometric, life-size animal statues from French artist Richard Orlinski’s Champs-Élysées exhibition.
About the Lincoln Road District
Situated in the heart of Miami Beach, the Lincoln Road District is a premier retail, lifestyle and cultural destination that is home to about 200 restaurants and shops, entertainment, and arts and cultural offerings. Lincoln Road ranked as the most-visited open-air destination in South Florida, with over 8 million visits in 2022. Affectionately referred to by some as “Miami’s living room,” there is nothing as quintessentially Miami Beach as Lincoln Road. It’s the street where models walk their dogs after runway shows, where stylish boulevardiers stroll past window shoppers, and where café culture overrules standard business meetings. Music and entertainment lovers will find refuge in the Lincoln Road District, home to the New World Symphony, Oolite Arts, Colony Theatre and Regal South Beach movie theater. Steps away is the newly remodeled Miami Beach Convention Center, which welcomes world-renowned Art Basel Miami Beach every December.
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Learn More
lincolnroad.com
marcocochranesculpture.net
With love,
FWO
