ANTONI MIRALDA. GONDOLA SHOE

Conceived for the first time for the Spanish Pavilion at the 44th Venice Biennale in 1990, this work belongs to the ‘Honey Moon Project’ by the Catalan artist—a symbolic connection between the statue of Columbus in Barcelona and the Statue of Liberty in New York.

The ‘bride’s shoe,’ part of the attrezzo of the Statue of Liberty itself and its union with Columbus, symbolizes the link between continents and the festive spirit as a collective manifestation—themes prominently present in Miralda’s body of work. As part of the trousseau, the shoe becomes a symbol of a universal activity, contributing to the deconstruction of prejudices in an already globalized world.

A part of the collection of the Reina Sofia Museum Foundation, ‘Gondola Shoe’ sailed through the canals of Venice and now arrives in Spain for the first time in the city of Valencia. It was exhibited at the Bombas Gens Cultural Center from April to November 2023. Now, it continues its journey to the land of Cadiz as a symbol of connection with the land from where Columbus set sail to the Americas. The landscape of the Montenmedio Contemporary Foundation, the meeting point between the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean—once witnesses to the feats of the great navigator—are reinvented with the offering of the ‘Gondola Shoe.’

On loan from the Reina Sofia Museum Foundation, the ‘Gondola Shoe’ will remain at the Montenmedio Contemporary Foundation for a year, accompanying the rest of the site-specific collection of international artists in the Dehesa Gaditana. It invites viewers to reconsider their relationship with art and the everyday experiences that surround them, as desired by the artist.