The Nasher Sculpture Center continued its summer-long rollout of its upcoming 10th anniversary Xchange program Saturday, announcing that Fish Trap Lake in West Dallas would the location of the third sculpture in the series, this one by New York-based Swiss artist Ugo Rondinone.
Rondinone's plan is deceptively simple: He is constructing a pier that will extend out onto the lake from the headquarters of the Dallas Housing Authority, facing west. However, the pier will be painted in colors like turquoise, yellow and red, making it unlike any pier you'd expect at a lake.
Rondinone is taking inspiration from his childhood in Switzerland, where he grew up near a lake. He envisions the experience of being on this pier to be one of contemplation and introspection, where anyone on the pier can become inspired by the colors and the surrounding area.
Although Fish Trap Lake is a relatively small, plain-looking body of water, its location is significant in the artistic history of Dallas. It was once part of La Reunion, a mid-1800s art enclave comprising French, Belgian and Swiss settlers. The lake is named after the fishing technique La Reunion's inhabitants used in the Trinity River.
Rondinone's pier joins Ruben Ochoa's reclaimed material sculpture at the Trinity River Audubon Center and Rick Lowe's "social sculpture" in the Vickery Meadow neighborhood as the three announced Xchange pieces. The remaining seven artworks will be announced in the coming weeks.
Rendering of Ugo Rondinone's colorful pier he's designing for the Nasher Xchange program.
