Cambridge artist Cicely Carew, transforms the Prudential Center into a cathedral of color with her vibrant sculptural installation, Ambrosia, is her way of transporting Bostonians into a sanctuary of collective emotional and spiritual healing during the pandemic and region's coldest months. Commissioned by Boston Properties and curated by Now + There, a public art organization that brings site-specific, temporary works of art to all neighborhoods of Boston, Ambrosia opens to the public on March 15.
Ambrosia is an ecosystem of color, light, and shape that highlights Prudential Center's iconic, light-filled thoroughfares; transforming the space into a honeycomb of infinite possibilities. This large-scale, multi-media installation reimagines the design and purpose of our public spaces as sites of meaningful community engagement and daily creative discovery.
Ambrosia is anchored by two sculptures suspended in Prudential Center's major arteries. As if overflowing centerpieces at a zero-gravity feast, these sculptures act as access points to a shared sense of abundance. Between them, a deconstructed bouquet of spray-painted mesh, tulle, screens, and other everyday materials punctuates the Boylston and Huntington Ave hallways, offering distinct moments of solace and organic beauty to all who pass through.
ABOUT THE ARTIST: Cicely Carew spent her formative years in Los Angeles surrounded by artists, writers, sculptors, photographers, and teachers. She moved to Boston for her undergraduate degree at MassArt, and after stints in Mexico and on the West Coast, returned for her MFA at Lesley Art + Design in Cambridge, MA. Exuberant in its colorful forms, Carew's work is, in her words, about "about radical joy and liberation."
Carew has received several honors and grants over the years, such as the Cambridge Art Association's Emerging Artist's Exhibition award, the Sustainable Arts Foundation award, Strauch-Mosse Merit Scholarship Award, and a Cambridge Arts Council grant. Carew's work is in private, corporate, and University collections. She currently lives in Cambridge, MA, with her son.
ABOUT NOW + THERE:
Now + There (N+T) is a non-profit public art curator changing the landscape with temporary and site-specific public artworks. Through its curatorial efforts, N+T is transforming Boston into a public art city by creating a portfolio of projects that supports artistic risk-taking in order to catalyze community dialogue, and cultural change.
