The Linda Pace Foundation Announces Acquisition of a Sound Sculpture by Susan Philipsz

SAN ANTONIO, TX.- The Linda Pace Foundation announces a major acquisition and related exhibition of sound sculpture Sunset Song, 2003, by Susan Philipsz, a Turner Prize-winning artist. The work joins the more than 500 objects in the Foundation’s diverse contemporary art collection, which was begun by the late philanthropist Linda Pace. From May 8–June 26, 2011, Sunset Song will be presented daily in CHRISpark, the one-acre park built by Pace in 2005.

Scottish artist Susan Philipsz created Sunset Song as part of her 2003 residency at Artpace San Antonio, which was also founded by Linda Pace. In the work, Philipsz sings both the male and female parts of the 19th-century American folk ballad “Banks of the Ohio.” Philipsz vocalizes the gendered lyrics in a call-and-response arrangement, with the volume level changing according to the shifting daylight.

Following her participation in the renowned Artpace International Artist-in-Residence program, Philipsz has gone on to produce numerous sound installations from her base in Berlin, Germany. In 2010, Philipsz was awarded the prestigious Turner Prize.
“The Foundation is thrilled to add this landmark work Sunset Song to its collection. We are fortunate to have the rare opportunity to reach back over years and acquire this key work, which came out of Susan Philipsz’s 2003 residency in San Antonio,” said Steven Evans, Executive Director and Curator of the Linda Pace Foundation.

“Acquiring and exhibiting this work speaks to our mission and collection on many levels: through our support of the Artpace International Artist-in-Residence program, through continuing Linda’s practice of sustaining the work of artists — especially women artists, and through our espousal of contemporary art that is challenging in both form and substance. Linda would be especially pleased with our plans to exhibit the work in her beloved CHRISpark.”

The exhibition will be inaugurated by a preview reception on Friday, May 6, from 6 PM to 9 PM at CHRISpark, 111 Camp Street, San Antonio. Friends of the Foundation, artists, the art community, and the general public are invited to attend this free event. The eight-week exhibition will run from May 8, 2011 until June 26, 2011. CHRISpark will maintain extended hours throughout the exhibition, and the work will be presented from 12 noon until sunset, Tuesday through Sunday. Sunset Song will culminate each day as the sun goes down.

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