The Board of Trustees of the Association for Public Art invites you to join us for our 141st Annual Meeting at the Philadelphia Museum of Art with guest speaker, Rafael Ferrer.
Ferrer will be presenting an illustrated talk, “Nothing. . . is what it is.”
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WATCH: The New York based artist and percussionist – who was born in Puerto Rico and spent much of his life living and working in Philadelphia – delivered a thought-provoking and engaging illustrated talk (“Nothing is…what it is”) to attendees in the Van Pelt Auditorium, tracing his personal development as a musician and visual artist over the past 60 years. For this occasion, the Philadelphia Museum of Art showcased two of Ferrer’s artworks from their collection.
His sculpture El Gran Teatro de la Luna was commissioned by the Fairmount Park Art Association (now the Association for Public Art) in 1982 for Fairhill Square in North Philadelphia.
Rafael Ferrer was born in 1933 in Santurce, Puerto Rico, and lived and worked in Philadelphia for many years. In 1970 he executed Deflected Fountain 1970, for Marcel Duchamp on the East Terrace of the Philadelphia Museum of Art. His sculpture El Gran Teatro de la Luna was commissioned by the Fairmount Park Art Association (now the Association for Public Art) in 1982 for Fairhill Square in North Philadelphia. From his early days as a musician and his Surrealist-influenced abstract drawings and conceptual/process actions and installations, to his lush tropical paintings, maps, and works on paper bags, Ferrer’s work defies categorization.
Ferrer has repainted and restored El Gran Teatro de la Luna for the City of Philadelphia through the Office of Arts, Culture and the Creative Economy, with funding from the NEA and matching support for the artist by the Association for Public Art. The sculpture was recently reinstalled as part of Philadelphia’s Parks & Recreation’s site renovations.
His artwork was featured in a major retropsective at El Museo del Barrio in New York City in 2010, and a 2012 survey of his works on paper at the Lancaster Museum of Art, PA. His work is included in the permanent collections of many museums in the US and abroad.
The re-dedication of El Gran Teatro de la Luna will be held on Tuesday, May 14 at 5:30p.m. in Fairhill Square Park (4th and Lehigh).
Questions? Call 215.546.7550
PRESS RELEASE: Artist Rafael Ferrer to Speak in Philadelphia