Varini '10


Site Projects Inc is pleased to announce our 2010 public art commission by renowned Swiss artist Felice Varini. A 110 ft tall, multi-dimensional painting, Square with four circles, was installed in Temple Plaza. This is Varini's first outdoor public artwork in the United States.

Work on the execution of the artwork took place both at nighttime and during the day. The installation was a performance piece in itself offering the public a unique opportunity to observe the artist's process and the evolution of his artwork. Beginning May 23rd at night and using a large format, high intensity projector, Varini projected the design into the darkened site. Once the outlines were drawn by the artist and his team, the daytime work of painting the mural began. Painting was completed in the following week and a half.

The exhibition of the artwork will be on view through June 2011. During that period, Site Projects will offer a series of programs that connect art, architecture, mathematics and technology to the ideas in Varini's art. The site of Square with four circles will include the pedestrian passageway from Chapel Street into Temple Plaza and the exterior surfaces of the sculptural concrete exit ramp of the Crown Street garage. The site of the artwork is contiguous not only to New Haven Green but also to the Shubert Theater and Zinc restaurant.

A second Varini exhibit can be seen across the New Haven Green. Three black circles in air, on view through the end of August 2010, will be a temporary indoor mural at the New Haven Free Public Library, 133 Temple Street. The installation is in partnership with Site Projects and the Patrons of the New Haven Public Library.

Photographs of earlier Varini projects will be exhibited in the Yale University Art Gallery. Related paintings by students at Coop High School who have studied Varini's work and worked with the artist during his residency in New Haven were exhibited at 210 College Street.

Funding for Square with four circles has been awarded by Pro Helvetia, the Arts Council of Switzerland, National Endowment for the Arts, CT Commission for Culture + Tourism, Community Foundation for Greater New Haven, the Seymour L. Lustman Memorial Fund, The David T. Langrock Foundation, as well as numerous local foundations and institutions. The hospitality sponsor for this project is The Study. In addition to support from the Consulate General of Switzerland in New York, Site Projects has received the endorsement of Mayor John DeStefano and New Haven's Office of Cultural Affairs and is working in collaboration with the New Haven Parking Authority.

The exhibition of Square with four circles will be a world-class cultural event and an occasion for inviting the world to New Haven.