Rafael Domenech:
Estuary [Pavilion for MOAD]

Rafael Domenech: Estuary [Pavilion for MOAD]

MOAD Pavilion Series

Estuary [Pavilion for MOAD], a work by Rafael Domenech, functions on multiple levels—as a public sculpture, a reflection on the written word, a platform for live performances and public gatherings, and a meditative environment. Estuary is made from everyday construction materials, such as aluminum framing, and can mutate into a variety of distinct spatial configurations. Large panels or “pages” of construction mesh feature laser-cut texts that will change throughout the duration of the project.

Domenech's artistic practice investigates notions of architecture and urban design, public gathering spaces, and publishing methodologies. He refers to his works as "publications," and they take the form of pavilions, installations, and public programs, as well as experimental publications. The artist’s spatial interventions intersect publishing methodologies such as cutting, redacting, revising, and circulation as research tactics to amplify his interest in the exhibition model as an active machine for production rather than a repository space.

Cuban American artist Rafael Domenech received his BFA from the New World School of the Arts at Miami Dade College in 2015 and his MFA from Columbia University in 2019. He was the recipient of awards from the Rockefeller Brothers Fund, the Tulsa Artist Fellowship, and the Cintas Fellowship. His work has been exhibited at the Carnegie Museum of Art, Pittsburgh; Passerelle Centre d'art contemporain, Brest, France; The Institute for Contemporary Art at Virginia Commonwealth University; MIT List Visual Arts Center, Cambridge, Massachusetts; SculptureCenter, New York; Socrates Sculpture Park, New York; The Bass Museum, Miami Beach; and Artium Museum, Vitoria-Gasteiz, Spain.

Rafael Domenech: Estuary [Pavilion for MOAD] is the first in a series of annual commissioned MOAD Pavilions, curated by Isabela Villanueva, MOAD Consulting Curator. Estuary was inaugurated at Kyriakides Plaza on the MDC Wolfson Campus in Downtown Miami to coincide with the 39^th Miami Book Fair. The artist reconfigured the work for its second installation at Fred Shaw Memorial Plaza on MDC's Kendall Campus.

MOAD's programs are made possible with the support of the Miami-Dade County Department of Cultural Affairs and the Cultural Affairs Council, the Miami-Dade County Mayor and Board of County Commissioners. They are sponsored in part by the State of Florida, Department of State, Division of Arts and Culture, the Florida Council on Arts and Culture, and the National Endowment for the Arts.