CHRIS SULLIVAN
MIAMI, FL—Fairholme Unlimited, a non-profit foundation, announced today that Rene Gonzalez Architects has been appointed to design a new building in the Edgewater neighborhood of Miami. The building will serve exclusively as the new home for the foundation and its growing collection. It will be open to the public, in keeping with the city of Miami’s rich tradition of making private collections accessible.
While previous plans included multiple structures and functions, the appointment of Rene signals a new direction for the property on 26th Street between Biscayne Blvd and NE 2nd Ave. Gonzalez’s Miami-based firm has worked on many substantial residential and cultural projects, including the redesigned Cisneros Fontanals Art Foundation (CIFO) in downtown Miami.
“I am honored to have been selected for this project,” said Gonzalez. “I feel enormous responsibility toward the future of Fairholme Unlimited and my goal is to design a space that will further its mission of providing arts and culture to the local community in a new home that will be both beautiful and resilient.”
Chloe Berkowitz, President of Fairholme Unlimited, said, “We’re so proud to be working with someone as talented and visionary as Rene to design a new home for our collection. We hope this gift to the city enhances Miami’s cultural landscape through exhibiting world-renowned contemporary art as well as an innovative and unique building design.”
Two monumental works from the collection – James Turrell’s Aten Reign and Richard Serra’s Passage of Time – will feature prominently within the building’s design. Aten Reign debuted at the Guggenheim Museum in New York in 2013 to critical acclaim and drew a record number of visitors to the iconic Frank Lloyd Wright rotunda. Serra’s massive Cor-Ten steel sculpture, Passage of Time, will be on view for the first time since it debuted in 2014 at the QMA Gallery in Qatar, as part of the artist’s first solo show in the Middle East.
In addition to inviting Gonzalez to design its new building, Fairholme Unlimited has also elected Dennis Scholl, Gabriela Palmieri, Margaret Marquez, and Kevin Schwarte to its Board of Directors. As members of the board, this diverse group of international art world luminaries, local patrons and long-time friends of Fairholme Unlimited will be shepherding the foundation, in close collaboration with Fairholme Unlimited’s President, Chloe Berkowitz.
Berkowitz explained, “I am honored to welcome Dennis, Gabriela, Margaret and Kevin to our board. Together, they bring a wealth of experience and expertise. From Dennis’s engagement with the Miami arts community to Gabriela’s renowned position in the international art world, each are deeply committed to our organization’s growth. Accompanied by Margaret’s early support in helping to build the collection as well as Kevin’s instrumental role in the relocation of our Serra from Doha to Miami, I have every confidence that their distinct and collective knowledge will profoundly enrich Fairholme Unlimited and our impact on the community.”
In their role as members of the Board of Directors, these individuals will provide counsel and guidance on the direction and operation of the Fairholme Unlimited foundation and serve as ambassadors in the local and international art communities.
