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Brazilian contemporary artist Ernesto Neto recently realized a colorful sculpture made of hand-knotted cotton strips in the atrium of Zurich's Central Station. Titled Gaia Mother Tree, the installation resembles a giant tree and extends from the station's roof to its floor.
Exhibited by the Fondation Beyeler, Neto's sculpture is an immersive work of art, a space that one can enter into and walk around or remain and meditate. The Gaia Mother Tree will be on display until July 29th. A series of activities for adults and children, including musical concerts, workshops and debates, is scheduled to take place under the net of cotton.
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Sam Keller, director of the Fondation Beyeler, estimates that almost a half-million people will pass through the station and, consequentially, the sculpture. This would make Gaia Mother Tree the most visited work of art in the history of Switzerland.
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Ernesto Neto is one of the most internationally recognized Brazilian artists, and his works address, among other things, issues related to spirituality, humanism and ecology. Strongly influenced by the neo-concrete movement of the 1960s, minimalist and conceptual art, Neto's production has been characterized by his use of materials and techniques not common to art - from organic objects to knowledge and craft of indigenous peoples.
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To watch the video and learn more about Gaia Mother Tree, visit the Fondation Beyeler webpage. And see the photographs taken by visitors using the hashtag #beyelerneto.
Via: World Art Foundations and Artnet.