The Momentary welcomes Yinka Shonibare’s work as a new long-term loan from OZ Art NWA
BENTONVILLE, Ark. (October 24, 2022) – OZ Art NWA unveiled the newest addition to the collection by artist Yinka Shonibare at The Momentary on Monday, October 10, 2022.
Installed near the entry of the contemporary art space, Wind Sculpture (SG) VIII, 2022, a stainless-steel armature with hand-painted glass reinforced polyester cast, greets guests as they arrive. The sculpture is a long-term loan to the Momentary to champion the institution and the vibrant arts culture in the Northwest Arkansas region.
“Yinka Shonibare’s Wind Sculpture series has been at the top of The Momentary’s outdoor sculpture wish list since before we opened. We’re incredibly grateful to OZ Art for making this dream a reality and bringing this truly monumental work to our community,” Kaitlin Garcia-Maestas, acting curator of visual arts at The Momentary, said.
Shonibare (b. 1962) describes himself as a “postcolonial hybrid”; a product of complex and layered relationships forged by centuries of global trade, migration, politics, and cultural exchange. In Wind Sculpture (SG) VIII, the dynamic movement of a piece of fabric caught in a gust of wind is rendered in a gravity-defying, solid fiberglass form at a monumental scale.
Evocative of the sails of ships that crossed the Atlantic to connect nations through the exchange of ideas, products, and people, the form of Wind Sculpture (SG) VIII captures histories that can be inspiring, brutal and complex. It looks at how the opening of the seas led not only to the Trans-Atlantic slave trade and colonization but also gave rise to the dynamic contributions of Africans and African heritage worldwide.
“The addition of Wind Sculpture (SG) VIII bridges the vibrant public art on view throughout Bentonville and Northwest Arkansas to the contemporary visual, performance, and culinary arts at the Momentary,” said Olivia Walton, board chairperson of Crystal Bridges and The Momentary and OZ Art visionary. “We want art to be part of everyday life in our community, and there’s no better way to do that than with outdoor work that literally stops you in your tracks.”
A crew installed Wind Sculpture (SG) VIII outside the entry of The Momentary on the morning of Monday, October 10. For more information, visit ozartnwa.com.
