Beatriz Cortez: ‘Drawing Lines in the Air with Metal’
Beatriz Cortez on Glacial Erratic, her commission for the Frieze LIFEWTR Sculpture Prize
Beatriz Cortez on Glacial Erratic, her commission for the Frieze LIFEWTR Sculpture Prize
From Los Angeles to New York, from welded metals to rock formations, Glacial Erratic (2020) tells the story of both mineral and human migrations. Conceived by Beatriz Cortez for the Frieze LIFEWTR Sculpture Prize, the sculpture is composed of a steel frame and sheet metal.
Evoking an ancient boulder, like the numerous glacial erratics that populate the landscape in New York City, the shape of the rock that inspired Cortez originates from Nayarit in Mexico, which according to ancient Mesomaerican traditions, was the origin of the world. ‘I am amazed about what I have learned about nature through this piece’ Cortez says, 'and about drawing lines in the air with metal'.
Placed in Rockefeller Center as if deposited there by a melted glacier, the sculpture will age as it is exposed to the elements: marking different planetary temporalities and making visible the ancient nature of migration.
On display until October 2nd, 2020, the sculpture is part of the second edition of Frieze Sculpture at Rockefeller Center.
