"Xavier Cortada created a series of extensive installations on his
Antarctic visit, focusing on the crucial element of time. The Florida
native cast an ice replica of a Mangrove seedling that is very slowly
making its way over 150,000 years to the coastline. In contrast, he
marked the mere 50-year history of human presence at the South Pole
with chronological flags stretching across the frozen land."
Lucy R. Lippard
Weather Report exhibition catalog,
Boulder Museum of Contemporary Art, 2007.
BIOGRAPHY
Xavier
Cortada
has worked with groups globally to produce numerous collaborative art
projects, including peace murals in Cyprus
and Northern Ireland, child welfare murals in Bolivia and Panama, AIDS
murals in Geneva and South Africa, and eco-art projects in Hawaii,
Holland and Latvia.
The Miami artist created environmental art at the Earth Poles: In 2007, the artist used the moving ice sheet beneath the South Pole as an instrument to mark time; the art piece will be completed in 150,000 years. In 2008, Cortada planted a green flag at North Pole to help launch a global reforestation effort.
Cortada has also been commissioned to create art for the White House, the World Bank, the Florida Supreme Court, the Florida Governor's Mansion, Florida Botanical Gardens, Miami City Hall, Miami-Dade County Hall, the Miami Art Museum, the Miami Science Museum, Museum of Florida History, and the Frost Art Museum.
Corporations such as General Mills, Nike, Heineken and Hershey's have commissioned his art. Publishers like McDougal and Random House have featured it in school textbooks and publications. His work has also been featured in National Geographic TV and the Discovery Channel.
Cortada, who was born in Albany, New York and grew up in Miami, holds degrees from the University of Miami College of Arts and Sciences, Graduate School of Business and School of Law.
For more information visit www.cortada.com
You may also want to read the 2006 Florida History and Arts article.
