Don Gummer presents a new work for FAPE’s Site-Specific Collection

In collaboration with Foundation for Art and Preservation in Embassies (FAPE), Don Gummer is to present a major site-specific sculpture for the US Embassy in Moscow, Russia, as part of its Site-Specific Collection. Founded in 1986, FAPE is the leading public-private partnership dedicated to providing permanent works of American art for U.S. embassies worldwide through site-specific commissions, original print and photography collections, preservation projects and other arts initiatives.

Gummer’s design will be unveiled in Washington DC during FAPE’s Annual Events in April 2015, and to be installed in 2016. The artist was chosen by FAPE’s committee of prominent arts professionals, and will work with the embassy architects and the State Department to develop and donate an artwork which sensitively integrates into its site.

The work is planned as a tall, vertical sculpture to represent the multicultural energy, openness and optimism of America, while remaining solid and well grounded. It is important to Gummer to reflect both the individuality and interconnectedness of Russia and America, as the piece allows the artist to share his practice with the Russian community.

Gummer’s sculpture is to be the 18th work commissioned for FAPE’s Site-Specific Collection: a program which was established in 1999 when Joel Shapiro created Conjunction, a 40-foot bronze that stands on the front lawn of the US Embassy in Ottawa, Canada. Internationally, the Collection sees work by leading names such as Louise Bourgeois, Ron Gorchov, Ellsworth Kelly, Sol LeWitt, Maya Lin, Elie Nadelman, Odili Donald Odita, Martin Puryear, Joel Shapiro, Michael Singer, Dorothea Rockburne and Elyn Zimmerman on view across Europe, Asia, Africa and the Americas. The Collection is intended to show FAPE’s belief that the universal language of art is an important tool in cultural diplomacy and able to transcend boundaries, languages, and conflict.

Don Gummer presents a new work for FAPE’s Site-Specific Collection, US Embassy, Moscow, April 2015.

Credits
1. Don Gummer, The Embrace, 1994, Cast bronze and aluminum. 103 x 96 x 84 inches. Courtesy of the artist.