Philippe Parreno’s ‘Iceman’ Sculpture Will Melt Away at Independent 20th Century
Philippe Parreno’s melting sculpture Iceman in Reality Park (1995–2023) will make its New York debut at Independent 20th Century in the Breuer building, presented by Esther Schipper. The gallery’s senior director Leah Turner said the “Iceman” series can be reproduced “as many or as few times as desired,” and at the fair a new ice sculpture will arrive each day, with the empty plinth also considered a manifestation of the work. Parreno first created the piece for the 1995 outdoor group exhibition “Ripple Across the Water” in Tokyo’s Aoyama, organized by curator Jan Hoet, where a fresh ice sculpture was delivered daily and melted through the summer day. Later versions appeared in Parreno’s 2020 Berlin show “Manifestation” at Esther Schipper and in 2024 at Seoul’s Leeum Museum of Art, and the Independent iteration will be realized in white or clear ice at a scale similar to the Leeum version (about 3.15 feet tall including the plinth).
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This story was covered in Repatriation Reckonings and High-Stakes Art Heists