Black Cube unveils permanent, interactive, concrete art installation by Matt Barton at Denver's TAXI Campus

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Black Cube unveils permanent, interactive, concrete art installation by Matt Barton at Denver's TAXI Campus
Matt Barton, Community Forms (CAD rendering), 2021. Courtesy of the artist and Black Cube.



DENVER, CO.- The nomadic contemporary art museum, Black Cube, announces its first permanent art installation titled “Community Forms” by 2021 Black Cube Artist Fellow Matt Barton. Sited within Denver’s Globeville neighborhood on TAXI’s mixed-use community campus, Barton’s sculptural intervention features abstract curvilinear forms that provide a social space for gathering and creative play while also safely channeling stormwater.

The artist drew inspiration from the site, which is located adjacent to Colorado’s South Platte River, and skatepark design, to create an interactive sculpture that guides waterflow from the campus’ Freight building into bioswales (vegetated ditches that help collect and filter stormwater). Composed of formed earth, concrete, and landscaping materials, the artwork visually references a topographic natural landscape and disciplines such as Land Art and Earthworks. Produced with the support of FEMA Region 8 and Zeppelin Development, “Community Forms” encourages freeform exploratory interaction through dynamic visitor-centric sculptures that collectively generate a welcoming public space and a novel solution to flood mitigation.

“Barton’s process involved many iterations of drawings and clay models that he sculpted himself. The final sculpture is waterlike in its shape but made from impermeable materials to easily channel stormwater—in doing so, the work reveals our inextricable connection with nature. Beyond its aesthetics, the work is intended for playful interaction, inviting the community to think about public space in a less prescribed way. The hope is to encourage visitors to have a more creative and open perspective to the world around us.” —Cortney L. Stell, Executive Director + Chief Curator, Black Cube

"Much of my artwork seeks to engage viewers in a physical and mental space of play. This project was an exciting design challenge to combine a visually compelling artwork that activates space, the functional channeling of floodwater through the site, as well as a social space that invites creative interpretation.” —Matt Barton, Artist

“Community Forms” will open to the public on Saturday, May 22, 2021 with an opening reception from 2:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m. There will be remarks by Black Cube, select partners, and the artist starting at 3:00 p.m. Food and drinks will be available, and the event will follow Denver’s COVID-19 public health orders. Masks and social distancing are strongly recommended to maintain everyone's safety. Limited parking is available on the TAXI campus; rideshare is encouraged. This event is free; RSVPs are encouraged. RSVP here.

This project was made possible by FEMA Region 8 and Zeppelin Development. “Community Forms” is the first artwork created with the help of FEMA’s ArtWorks program, an offshoot of the Risk MAP Community Engagement Risk Communication contract. which aims to raise risk awareness and promote disaster risk reduction activities through art. Additional partnership support for this artwork includes the David and Laura Merage Foundation, TAXI campus, Phantom Concrete, Wunder Werkz, BirdSeed Collective, and RedLine.



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