Güiro | Los Carpinteros

Absolut Art Bureau, the unit responsible for Absolut’s art initiatives, is delighted to continue its ongoing collaboration with Art Basel as an Associate Sponsor of Art Basel Miami Beach, the most prestigious art show in the Americas, and announce the launch of a new site-specific art bar installation by artist duo Los Carpinteros for South Beach’s vibrant Oceanfront. Continuing the conversation outdoors, Absolut Art Bureau will present Güiro. Following the success of Jeremy Shaw’s bar The Kirlian at Art Basel in Basel last June, Absolut Art Bureau will collaborate this year with the Cuban-born, Madrid-based Marco Castillo and Dagoberto Rodriguez, the artist collective known as Los Carpinteros, to present an art bar installation conceived as Gesamtkunstwerk. Güiro will be located on the Oceanfront, home to art-related activities programmed by Art Basel for the past 10 years, and flanked by Art Basel Miami Beach’s Art Public featuring outdoor works and performances in Collins Park. Los Carpinteros’ large-scale construction draws on the concept of an open-air art bar inspired by the güiro, the ubiquitous Cuban percussion instrument made from a dried hardshell, tropical fruit, invented by the pre-Colombian Taíno inhabitants of Cuba. It is also the word used in Cuban slang to connote a party. Oval in shape, the slatted structure will be lit from within to emphasize its gridded design. Its rectangular openings will function as seating for visitors, while the center will be occupied by a round bar complete with Absolut cocktails. The shelves will store a selection of books, bottles, and random objects selected by the artists. Güiro will be accompanied by a curated program of live music, performances and activities for an immersive experience of all senses. Distinguished Mallorcan composer Joan Valent has conceived a special program of music highlighting the sounds of the güiro instrument to give visitors a sense of the inspiration behind the visual artists’ creation on all fronts. In addition to its utilitarian function and musical references, Güiro expands on a body of recent work by Los Carpinteros which fashion civic spaces from the architectural language of panopticon prisons. The distinct circular configuration of the panopticon prison was developed in the 18th century by the English philosopher Jeremy Bentham and allowed a centrally placed guard to watch numerous prisoners placed along the perimeter. The most recent example of this series by Los Carpinteros was Sala de Lectura Ovalada (2011) – a ten-foot high reading room devoid of books –on view at Sean Kelly Gallery in New York in the spring of 2011.