Wild Flowers is a series of sculptures reproducing different parts of historic public figures. These isolated body parts (torso, pelvis, hands, fingers, feet) were hollowed out and cast in bronze. The sculptures act as flower pots or small gardens containing plants native to the region where they are exhibited. These must be plants that grow naturally in the area, including wild plants, grasses, shrubs, bushes, wild flowering plants, and other plants already present in local nurseries. Wild Flowers anticipates a future where nature would reclaim and invade the remnants of statues erected in honor of "great historic men.
This work continues Iván Argote's exploration of reappropriating statues commemorating nations' "great men." The artist develops narratives in which these statues are stripped of their usual symbolic power. A first series reproducing several sections of the Washington statue on Wall Street was made in 2021, followed by a second series in 2024 that reproduced in the same way the Roman emperor Augustus.
Iván Argote, Wild Flowers: A Chest, 2021. Courtesy of Perrotin, photography by Guillaume Ziccarelli.
Iván Argote, Wild Flowers: A Hip, 2021. Courtesy of Perrotin, photography by Guillaume Ziccarelli.
Iván Argote, Wild Flowers: A Neck, 2021. Courtesy of Perrotin, photography by Guillaume Ziccarelli.
Iván Argote, Wild Flowers: A Nose, 2021. Courtesy of Perrotin, photography by Guillaume Ziccarelli.
Iván Argote, Wild Flowers: A Hand, 2021. Courtesy of Perrotin, photography by Guillaume Ziccarelli.
Iván Argote, Wild Flowers, 2024 - 2025. Katy Trail, Dallas, USA. Courtesy of Friends of the Katy Trail.
Iván Argote, Wild Flowers, Augustus: A Chest, 2024. Courtesy of Albarrán Bourdais.
Iván Argote, Wild Flowers, Augustus: A Head, 2024. Courtesy of Albarrán Bourdais.
Iván Argote, Wild Flowers, Augustus: A Hip, 2024. Courtesy of Albarrán Bourdais.
Iván Argote, Wild Flowers, Augustus: Another Foot, 2024. Courtesy of Albarrán Bourdais.
