Miami Mountain consists of a five brightly painted boulders, stacked in the form of a contemporary cairn. Each boulder weighs between 15 and 30 tons. The piece finds its geological inspiration in the rock formations of the North American Badlands, the so-called ‘hoodoos’. The materials, at their core, are ancient, subjected to the sublime forces of time and nature, a recurring motif in Rondinone’s practice. His interest in what he calls ‘primitive materials’, such as boulders, stems from contemplation, stillness and inaction.
Miami Mountain refers concurrently to the natural world, romanticism and existentialism, encapsulating a mental trinity that has underpinned the artist’s work for more than 20 years. Commissioned by The Bass, the sculpture is permanently installed at the southeast corner of Collins Park.
