FIU’s Biscayne Bay Campus sculpture garden grows with work by Cuban-born artist Florencio Gelabert

The sculpture, “Column Trees,” was installed along Biscayne Bay thanks to a generous donation from Marc Routh, a New York-based art collector, and funding from the Florida Art in State Buildings Program.

Gelabert, who was born in Cuba in 1961, belongs to a generation of artists who came of age after Fidel Castro’s rise to power in 1959.   His recent works focus on nature and aim to evoke an emotional response to our spoiled environment.

The new sculpture, which is fabricated from steel, aluminum, tree trunks and polyester gel coat resin, is four-feet wide and 10-feet high. It will remain a permanent part of the Biscayne Bay Sculpture Garden, which already has four stainless steel sculptures by environmental artist Ross Power.

“Florencio Gelabert’s work is the ideal fit for our sculpture garden which draws attention to the connection between art and the environment,” said Damian Fernandez, vice provost of the Biscayne Bay Campus. “We are grateful to Mr. Routh and the Art in State Buildings Program for making this contribution to the Biscayne Bay Campus possible.”

Located in the heart of North Miami, the Biscayne Bay Campus (BBC) is the smaller of two Florida International University campuses. Encompassing nearly 200 acres, the scenic campus – with a student body of close to 8,000 – offers direct access to the bay, a library, an aquatic center, a conference center, a ropes course and excellent opportunities for learning.

For more information about the campus, visit http://bbc.fiu.edu or call 305-919-5700.