Art In Our Midst: Cincinnati Outdoor Sculpture

Curatorial Statement from Kate Bonansinga

The downtown core of the city of Cincinnati is defined in part by its magnificent late 19th century architecture, a result of its golden age of industry and the arts between the American Civil War and WW I. On the other hand, the campus architecture of University of Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky University is decidedly contemporary, designed by luminaries such as Frank Gehry and Bernard Tschumi. This drivable sculpture tour focuses on works of outdoor contemporary sculpture that benefit from the architecture that surrounds them. For example, the sharp angles of Albert Paley’s Progression are in conversation with the dynamic lines of the Perkins and Will-designed structure behind it. Each of the three art museums in Cincinnati is represented by sculptures on the tour: Jim Dine’s Pinocchio welcomes visitors to the Cincinnati Art Museum, Nam June Paik’s Metrobot points the way to the Contemporary Arts Center, and Patrick Doherty’s Far Flung defines the front lawn of the Taft Museum of Art. Each of the sculptures is a formative one for its artist, representative of the artist’s overarching oeuvre. On this tour architecture and art together create a memorable aesthetic experience.

A bit about the curator...

Kate Bonansinga is Director, School of Art, College of Design, Architecture, Art and Planning at University of Cincinnati where she is also a professor and teaches about art in the public sphere. Bonansinga was the founding director of Stanlee and Gerald Rubin Center for the Visual Art at The University of Texas at El Paso where she curated dozens of exhibitions and also established an undergraduate minor in museum studies and taught courses in curatorial practice. She is in interested in museums as dynamic sites for learning, in the impact of art in gallery and non-gallery settings, and in the current methods that artists employ to make a difference in society and culture. Bonansinga is the author of "Curating at the Edge: Artists Respond to the U.S./Mexico Border" (University of Texas Press, 2014). She guest curated "Tania Candiani: Sounding Labor Silent Bodies" (2020) and "Unraveled: Challenging Textile Traditions" (2016) both at Contemporary Arts Center in Cincinnati. Her current research interest addresses art in the public sphere and the dissolving boundary between public space and museum space.