LA RECOLECCIÓN
Location: Claramatte Parkhaus Facade | Basel, Switzerland, 2010
9 ft x 30 ft x 2/3 ft (2.74 m x 9.14 m x 0.20 m)
Outdoor rated LEDs, diffusion material, slotted angle steel, vinyl coated steel cable, zinc coated hardware, custom lighting sequence, and electrical hardware.
LA RECOLECCIÓN is a 9 x 30-foot outdoor light sculpture installed on the facade of the Claramatte Parkhaus during Art Basel 2010, its hand-drawn silkscreened coins and shifting LED sequence transforming a parking structure steps from the world’s most important art fair into a luminous meditation on currency, access, and the temporary gathering of art, collectors, and ideas.
- Commissioned by Nina Menocal Gallery and sponsored by Tequila Jose Cuervo, LA RECOLECCIÓN was installed at the Claramatte Parkhaus, the venue of HOT ART Basel 2010, positioning the work at the intersection of Art Basel’s primary circuit and the independent fair ecosystem that surrounds it each June.
- Amorós drew the work’s polycarbonate coin forms from real Swiss Francs and Mexican Pesos, using silkscreen to merge two currencies from opposite hemispheres into a single visual language that reflects on the profound influence even the smallest unit of currency holds in determining who gains access to art and culture.
- ARTMOTIV (2010) featured Amorós in an extended profile titled “Grimanesa Amorós Etorno y Recuerdo,” situating LA RECOLECCIÓN within her broader practice and recognizing the work as a defining intervention within the Basel art week landscape.
- Amorós conceived the parking structure as a giant magical toy dispenser, with coins as the mechanism of entry, a metaphor that collapses the distance between the transactional logic of the art market and the childlike wonder that art itself is meant to inspire.
LA RECOLECCIÓN, by Grimanesa Amoros, ingeniously transforms a facade in Basel into a mystical, reimagined vending realm. The entry or exit into this space is marked by coins, artfully designed by Amoros, offering a symbolic gesture. These coins, rich in symbolism, embody not just wealth and luck but also the journey from one point to another. Amoros meticulously crafts her drawings on round polycarbonate circles, each representing her unique interpretation of currency, skillfully integrating distinguishing elements from Swiss Francs and Mexican Pesos.
Amoros’s coins offer a profound commentary on the immense influence even the smallest unit of currency can wield in determining accessibility.
This project is sponsored by Tequila Jose Cuervo and commissioned by Nina Menocal Gallery.