Herbert Bayer, an artist, designer, and seminal member of the avant-garde Bauhaus school in Germany, was the principal designer of the Fort Worth Art Center (1954), today known as the Fort Worth Community Arts Center. When local artist Kris Pierce was commissioned to design a series of sculptural plinths for the grounds of the building, he thoughtfully echoed Bayer’s aesthetic.
Pierce’s design for Untitled (Plinths) was derived from Herbert Bayer’s 1925 universal alphabet and arrived at through a process of repetition, redaction, and refinement. This process was done in attempt to connect the final plinth forms to the original building’s Modernist aesthetic and resurrect its presence on the site. Cast concrete, the plinths’ material is intended to sit in subtle dialogue with the Fort Worth Community Arts Center and other museums in the Cultural District. It is this larger idea that conceptually anchors the plinths’ design and purpose, supporting generations of artists’ work to come.
“The project was a really unique opportunity to surface the interesting history and architecture of what is now the FWCAC. I’m hoping the core ideas anchoring the design will connect to its past and inform its future.” – Kris Pierce
Each sculpture will serve as a pedestal for the Arts Council of Fort Worth’s temporary sculpture exhibition program and complement the existing outdoor permanent sculpture exhibitions at each of the five museums within the Cultural District. The program’s inaugural year was generously supported by sponsors Sheila and Houston Hill. Learn more about this initiative by visiting www.fwcac.com.
This project was funded by the 2004 Bond Program. The work was dedicated to the City of Fort Worth on December 6, 2019.
See what new projects are underway by visiting the Art In Progress page.