Ugo Rondinone: Seven Magic Mountains
Art Production Fund, founded by Curators Yvonne Force Villareal and Doreen Remen in 2000, is a non-profit arts organization dedicated to commissioning and producing ambitious public art projects, reaching new audiences, and expanding awareness through to contemporary art. Their most recent fundraising gala, featuring the fabulously kitsch theme Camp APF, raised over $760,000 in support of the APF’s mission to produce ambitious public art projects.
APF works to provide artists with necessary production assistance for complex and difficult-to-realize projects, often of a multidisciplinary nature. As a leading producer and presenter of bold new commissions and ambitious site-specific projects around the country, APF offers artists financial, technical, and logistical support from the early planning stages through project completion. The organization operates on a modest scale, enabling it to respond to opportunities in a timely manner and to commission risk-taking projects that require production support and expertise in the field of public art. With Casey Fremont (Executive Director) and Kathleen Lynch (Director of Operations), as well as an incredible roster of directors on its Board, APF is extremely well-respected, inspiring, and influential in its work, and by partnering strategically with other institutions, APF is also able to expand its capacity to meet the requirements which complex projects demand. These public art commissions challenge artists to work outside the confines of their normal practice, subsequently propelling their careers to the next level. APF projects are presented in highly visible, unexpected venues across the country, reaching passers-by and art audiences alike.
Projects of note by APF over the years have included the iconic PRADA MARFA public sculpture by artists Elmgreen & Dragset, in partnership with Ballroom Marfa; Sanford Biggers at Rockefeller Center; Jeff Koons: Seated Ballerina, created in partnership with Kiehl’s in support of the International Centre for Missing & Exploited Children; Ugo Rondinone: Seven Magic Mountains; and many more. Recent projects include Lorraine Nam: Art Sundae (Nam also led a children’s public art-making workshop on November 12, 2022) and, currently on view, Joel Gaitan at Rockefeller Center.
To learn more about APF, please click here or follow them at @artproductionfund