NorthPark Center Art Collection Makes Shopping A World-Class Cultural Experience

DALLAS—May 3, 2007—The newest additions to NorthPark Center’s world-class art collection, Ad Astra, 2005, by Mark di Suvero, Corridor Pin, Blue, 1999, by Claes Oldenburg and Coosje van Bruggen, and 20 elements, 2004-2005, by Joel Shapiro, are major acquisitions by Nancy A. Nasher, President, NorthPark Development Company, and her husband David J. Haemisegger, President, NorthPark Management Company, owners of NorthPark Center.

The monumentally impressive Ad Astra, a 48-foot tall, 12-ton, orange steel sculpture by Mark di Suvero, takes center stage in NorthCourt, located between Nordstrom and Macy’s.

The enormous, 21-foot-tall, large-scale stainless steel and aluminum with polyurethane enamel sculpture, Corridor Pin, Blue, 1999, by Claes Oldenburg and Coosje van Bruggen, stands tall on the grounds of NorthPark’s CenterPark and is the only large-scale piece by the world-renowned artists currently on display in Dallas.

20 elements, Joel Shapiro’s vividly painted sculpture with 20 wooden blocks of varying sizes joined together, now calls NorthPark Center’s Nordstrom Court home. (See attachment with photo.)

These acquisitions continue NorthPark Center’s longtime tradition of showcasing major works by world-renowned artists including Andy Warhol, Frank Stella, Jim Dine, Jonathan Borofsky, James Rosenquist and others.

“David and I are proud to continue the tradition of making world-class art available for everyday enjoyment,” said Nancy A. Nasher, President, NorthPark Development Company. “The artwork adds a unique element to the atmosphere of NorthPark, making it far more than a shopping experience. It’s truly a community gathering place. More than 25 million people a year will have the opportunity to appreciate this fascinating and significant art — more than attend most major art museums worldwide.”

“For the past decade, Nancy and I have been immersed in NorthPark Center’s expansion,” said David J. Haemisegger, President, NorthPark Management Company. “These newest additions to the NorthPark Center Collection are a true celebration of the quality, magnitude and excitement of this $235 million expansion. We are offering a retail experience unlike any other shopping center in the United States.”

Mark di Suvero (American, born in China, 1933) is seen as a key figure in the development of postwar American sculpture. His monumentally scaled sculptures are constructed primarily from industrial I-beams that are either welded or bolted together. His works are often the size of small buildings and could not be exhibited in traditional museum or gallery settings. However, the two-story expanse of NorthPark’s NorthCourt is a perfect setting for the massive Ad Astra. This is the first time his large-scale work has been installed indoors where it can be viewed from two levels.

Claes Oldenburg (the Netherlands, born 1942) and Coosje van Bruggen (Sweden, born 1929) began their collaboration in 1976 with the Trowel I, located in the sculpture park of the Kröller-Müller Museum in Otterlo, the Netherlands. Since then they have created dozens of large-scale works now displayed around the world in prestigious locations. As with Corridor Pin, Blue, which resembles a giant safety pin, ordinary objects are the inspiration for these monumental-scale sculptures. Corridor Pin, Blue, located in NorthPark Center’s CenterPark, is the only large-scale work by Oldenburg and van Bruggen on view in a public setting in Dallas.

Joel Shapiro (American, born 1941) is among the preeminent American sculptors of the 21st century. He began his career as a painter, but moved to Minimalist sculpture influenced by artists such as Tony Smith and Carl Andre. 20 elements was originally created for the Musée d’Orsay, Paris, as part of a series entitled “Correspondences”, which links contemporary artists with a work of their choice from the museum’s exceptional collection of 19th century art. The introduction of bright color, a new direction for the artist, adds to the bold dynamism of the piece. The installation of 20 elements in NorthPark’s Nordstrom Court is the only indoor painted wooden piece by the artist and is the first time his work can be viewed from two levels. Recently exhibited at the Musée d’Orsay, 20 elements came from Shapiro’s personal collection.

As one of the premier shopping centers in the United States, NorthPark Center As one of the premier shopping centers in the United States, NorthPark Center (www.northparkcenter.com) proudly offers shoppers the best of the best in every category represented including the finest in luxury retail and market exclusives. NorthPark Center is owned, managed, operated and leased by husband and wife David J. Haemisegger and Nancy A. Nasher. After a three-year, $235 million expansion, NorthPark Center is the largest shopping center in North Texas and is projected to be one of the top five shopping destinations in the country in 2008. NorthPark Center will continue to open more luxury boutiques, exclusive stores and dining options throughout 2007 and 2008 to reach over 235 stores and restaurants, surpassing $1 billion in annual sales in 2008. NorthPark Center is located at the intersection of North Central Expressway and Northwest Highway in the heart of Dallas. Stores are open from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m., Monday through Saturday, and 12 p.m. to 6 p.m. on Sunday. Department store, theatre, restaurant and spa hours vary.


For Information Contact:

Christine C. Szalay
NorthPark Center
Office 214.369.1234
Mobile 469.348.8262
Email cszalay@northparkcntr.com

Barbara Buzzell
The Buzzell Company
Office 214.219.9191
Mobile 214.912.0691
Email bb@buzzellco.com

Kelle Jackson
The Buzzell Company
Office 214.219.9191
Mobile 214.662.6644
Email kj@buzzellco.com

Newest Acquisitions by Nancy A. Nasher and David J. Haemisegger for the NorthPark Center Collection

Mark di Suvero (American, born in China, 1933)
Ad Astra, 2005
Painted Steel, 48' x 25'6" x 25'6"

Mark di Suvero’s Ad Astra, 2005, is a 48-foot tall sculpture composed of steel I-beams intersecting around a central steel “knot”. The title, Latin for “to the stars”, captures the soaring quality and aerial lightness of the work, while the bright red color introduces a fiery, explosive element, as though the piece were literally in the process of projecting outwardly in space from its core. The installation of Ad Astra in the NorthCourt of NorthPark Center, between Nordstrom and Macy’s, marks the first time a monumental work by di Suvero is permanently installed indoors. The sculpture is viewable from two levels of the Center, thus allowing visitors to interact with the intersecting elements from different perspectives, as well as to walk under and around the work. Ad Astra was recently exhibited at the Storm King Art Center as part of “Richard Bellamy –  Mark di Suvero”, an exhibition of color and black-and-white photographs of Mark di Suvero sculptures by the art dealer Richard Bellamy, along with a selection of large outdoor and smaller indoor works by di Suvero.
		Mark di Suvero’s Ad Astra, 2005, is located in NorthPark Center’s NorthCourt, Level One, between Nordstrom and Macy’s.

Mark di Suvero is one of America’s preeminent sculptors. Since the 1960s his works have punctuated landscapes and urban settings in America and abroad, combining, often at monumental scale, the roughness of found industrial materials with a seeming weightlessness and a gestural quality reminiscent of drawing in space.

“As heir to both the structural rigor of Cubo-Constructivism as well as to the gestural expansiveness of Abstract Expressionism, di Suvero was able to synthesize the divergent tributaries of mainstream modernism—including the engineered movement of kinetic art and the spontaneity of automatic Surrealist ‘drawing in air’. His genius lies in his unique ability to fuse the excitement of the momentary—expressed in the potential for imminent change of the swinging, twirling and precariously poised elements—with the gravity of a timeless geometry and the engineered stability and intuitive equilibrium that his hard-won mastery of structural balances makes possible.”

—-Barbara Rose, “Modernism and Memory”, Mark di Suvero, Valencia: Ivam Centre Julio Gonzalez, 1995.


Claes Oldenburg (the Netherlands, born 1942) and Coosje van Bruggen (Sweden, born 1929) Corridor Pin, Blue, 1999
Stainless steel and aluminum with polyurethane enamel
21'3" x 21'2" x 1'4"

A humorous presence on the landscaped grounds of NorthPark Center’s CenterPark, Corridor Pin, Blue, 1999, by Claes Oldenburg and Coosje van Bruggen is an oversized replica of a safety pin balanced vertically with its pointy end extended outward. The artists once again show their ability to elevate prosaic, household objects from daily life into striking works of art. As is often the case with large-scale works by Oldenburg and van Bruggen, the giant scale shifts the attention away from the object’s function to its formal and sculptural properties. The humble safety pin becomes a towering, dynamic sculpture, allowing viewers to experience it from a variety of angles and to walk under the outstretched point. The title, Corridor Pin, is a reference to the first exhibition of this sculpture next to a long corridor at the Museo Correr in Venice, Italy. The piece was also exhibited on the grounds of the Fundaçao de Serralves Museum of Contemporary Art in Porto, Portugal, and, most recently, on the rooftop of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. Corridor Pin, Blue is the only large-scale work by Oldenburg and van Bruggen on view in a public setting in Dallas.
		Corridor Pin, Blue, 1999, can be viewed on the grounds of CenterPark, NorthPark’s 1.4-acre landscaped garden.

Claes Oldenburg is considered one of the most important sculptors of the post-World War II generation. He came to prominence in the early 1960s, with other artists of the Pop Art movement, creating installations and “soft” sculptures that took as their inspiration the world of American consumer culture.

Oldenburg’s embrace of common objects may be seen as belonging to the tradition of the found object (or “readymade” sculpture) pioneered by Marcel Duchamp with his urinal, shovel and bottle rack, and paralleled by Jasper Johns’ use of beer cans and flashlights. In recent years, working in partnership with the curator, critic, and art historian Coosje van Bruggen, Oldenburg has focused on the creation of large-scale public sculptures, as well as smaller-scale park and garden sculptures and indoor installations.


Joel Shapiro (American, born 1941)
20 elements, 2004-2005
Wood, casein
122" x 132" x 85"

Joel Shapiro’s sculpture, 20 elements, was originally created for the Musée d’Orsay, Paris as part of a series entitled “Correspondences”, which links contemporary artists with a work of their choice from the museum’s exceptional collection of 19th century art. Shapiro selected Jean-Baptiste Carpeaux’s The Dance, a large-scale representation of six human figures dancing with abandon, that was originally created for the exterior of the Paris Opera. Carpeaux’s work, considered controversial at the time for its erotic depiction of nudes, boldly conveys the sensuality and ecstasy of human movement. Likewise Shapiro’s construction evokes a burst of movement that dramatically corresponds to the 19th century work. 20 elements literally appears to be in motion and change shape as it is viewed from various vantage points. The introduction of bright color, a new direction for the artist, adds to the bold dynamism of the piece. The installation of 20 elements in NorthPark’s Nordstrom Court is also the only indoor painted wooden piece by the artist and is the first time his work can be viewed from two levels. Recently exhibited at the Musée d’Orsay, 20 elements came from Shapiro’s personal collection.
		Joel Shapiro’s 20 elements, 2004-2005, is located in NorthPark Center’s Nordstrom Court, Level One.

Born in New York City in 1941, Joel Shapiro is among the preeminent American sculptors of the 21st century. He began his career as a painter, but moved to Minimalist sculpture influenced by artists such as Tony Smith and Carl Andre. During the 1970s Shapiro established his reputation with small intense sculptures of chairs, ladders, houses or bridges that were then installed in expansive gallery spaces. By the 1980s his work became larger and more figurative, and his pieces seemed to move, bend or tilt off balance.

Shapiro’s long-standing interest in modernist figurative sculpture stems from his respect for the work of Auguste Rodin, Henri Matisse, Pablo Picasso, Alberto Giacometti and Constantin Brancusi. Since the 1990s Shapiro has been experimenting with new forms, shapes and color, as well as focusing on large-scale outdoor works.

Selected works from the NorthPark Center Collection:

Frank Stella (American, born 1936)
Waves, 1985–89
Screenprint, lithograph, linoleum block cut, hand-coloring, marbling and collage on paper.
Near NorthCourt and Dillard’s Court, Level One

Frank Stella (American, born 1936)
Washington Island Gadwall (Exotic Birds), 1980–81
Enamel, crayon and glitter on aluminum
Dillard’s Court, Level One

James Rosenquist (American, born 1933)
F-111, 1974
Four-section color lithograph
Near Dillard’s Court, Level One

Mimmo Paladino (Italian, born 1948)
A Surrounded Figure (Assediato), 1983
Bronze
Near NorthPark Center Concierge between Neiman Marcus and Nordstrom, Level One

Alain Kirili (French, born 1946)
Rediscovered King, 1987
Forged aluminum
Between Neiman Marcus and Dillard’s, Level One

The Maeght Scarves, Ink on silk
31 scarves by 27 artists including Valerio Adami (1971), Marc Chagall (1958), Raoul Ubac (1964) and Pierre Tal Cott (1962), Edition of 200 each
Near NorthPark Center Management Office, Level One

Barry Flanagan (Welsh, born 1941)
Large Leaping Hare, 1982
Gilded bronze with painted tubular-steel base
Between Nordstrom and Macy’s, Level One

Jim Dine (American, born 1935)
The Field of the Cloth of Gold, 1987–1988
Bronze
Between Neiman Marcus and Dillard’s, Level One

Jonathan Borofsky (American, born 1942)
Five Hammering Men, 1982
Wood, paint, steel, aluminum, foam, bondo, electric motors
SouthCourt, between Neiman Marcus and Dillard’s, Level One

Beverly Pepper (American, born 1924)
Dallas Land Canal and Hillside, 1971–72
Cor-Ten steel, earth, and grass
At the south entrance to NorthPark Center from Northwest Highway (Loop 12) between Neiman Marcus and Dillard’s

Andy Warhol
Ads, 1985
Silkscreen prints and colophon
Volkswagen, Life Savers, Ronald Reagan, Apple, Judy Garland, Donald Duck, Paramount, Chanel, James Dean, Mobil
EastCourt, between Dillard’s and Macy’s, Level One

< Return to Press Releases