[WATCH] World-renowned artist dedicates sculpture to the children of Malta

Swiss, New-York-based artist and sculptor, Ugo Rondinone, has dedicated a large stone sculpture he calls 'the radiant' to the 'children of Malta' and it's been inaugurated this evening by Prime Minister Joseph Muscat and Minister for Justice Owen Bonnici at the Malta International Contemporary Art Space (MICAS) in Sa Maison Gardens, Floriana.

Sculptor Ugo Rondinone with his installation 'the radiant' at Sa Maison Gardens
Sculptor Ugo Rondinone with his installation 'the radiant' at Sa Maison Gardens
Ugo Rondinone dedicates his artwork to the future of Malta

Ugo Rondinone, a world-renonwned sculptor has dedicated a large stone figure to the children of Malta. It has been installed at Sa Maison Gardens and has been inaugurated this evening by the Prime Minister Joseph Muscat and Justice Minister Owen Bonnici.

Rondinone's stone figure for Malta, titled the radiant, shows the human figure in the most elemental and archaic form, using the most ancient material, stone. The bluestone is rough-cut into blocks and stacked one over another to form the human figure.

The exhibition is part of the MICAS concept launch and it will be open for public viewing from this evening until the 31 March 2019.

Prime Minister Joseph Muscat inaugurates the art exhibition featuring Rondinone's work at Sa Maison
Prime Minister Joseph Muscat inaugurates the art exhibition featuring Rondinone's work at Sa Maison

MICAS will be built at the currently inaccessible San Salvatore rampart close to the Garden of Rest in Floriana. Although the project is launched today, MICAS will officially open its doors in 2021.

This will be the first national space dedicated exclusively to contemporary art and will be employed as a medium through which visual artforms can be displayed.

Ugo Rondinone was born in 1964 in Brunnen, Switzerland, and currently lives and works in New York. Rondinone has been the subject of recent solo exhibitions at several institutions across the world.