Absolut at Art Basel in Miami Beach 2013 - Night Court by Ry Rocklen

Absolut is pleased to present a new collaboration with Los Angeles-based artist Ry Rocklen on a large-scale art bar installation on Oceanfront, Miami Beach. The installation entitled Night Court will be in operation from 12 noon until 2am during this year’s edition of Art Basel in Miami Beach.

Night Court draws from Rocklen’s recently unveiled line of fully functional furniture made entirely of trophy parts entitled ‘Trophy Modern’. Using the principles and aesthetics of Trophy Modern at the heart of Night Court’s design, Rocklen examines the culture of competition and success. The installation features Trophy Modern furnishings including a bar, bleachers, ping pong and chess tables made from the artist’s signature trophy parts, all set within 1:1 basketball court markings.

Rocklen has been given carte blanche to develop every element of this ambitious installation, from concept and design to programing. Each evening Ry Rocklen will introduce Night Court’s program of live performances and DJ sets, including Glasser, DJYSL, Yung Jake and Mykki Blanco, as well as an exclusive performance from internationally acclaimed artist Ariel Pink on Wednesday evening. Rocklen has worked with Absolut mixologists to create limited-edition cocktails inspired by the overall concept for Night Court including The Winning Spirit and Blood of a Champion.

Ry Rocklen’s work often focuses on using found or abandoned objects such as discarded mattresses, pillows, towels, chairs, and phonebooks reinventing their former usage and saving them from oblivion. Rocklen’s work subverts our expectations of everyday objects by manipulating their surface and materiality. The resulting sculptures are both familiar and often humorous transforming common and mundane objects into a spectacle for the viewer.

Night Court is the latest in a series of Absolut art bar installations created by leading contemporary artists and follows critically acclaimed installations by Mickalene Thomas, Adrian Wong and Los Carpinteros. Rocklen’s large scale site-specific art bar is open from 12 noon until 2am for the duration of Art Basel in Miami Beach.

Ry Rocklen will be in-conversation with writer and curator Jonathan Griffin as part of Art Basel Salon Program on Saturday, 7 December 5-6pm.

Ry Rocklen “Trophy Modern is more than just furniture, it is a lifestyle. This collaboration is a great opportunity to take it to the next level.”

Jonas Tåhlin, Vice President Global Marketing, The Absolut Company “Ry Rocklen is one of the USA’s most gifted and exciting young artists – we look forward to this ambitious art bar meets basketball court bringing the Miami party to the beach with amazing music, cocktails and performances.”

Night Court Evening Program
Tuesday 8pm – Bodies International, 9pm – Mykki Blanco
Wednesday 8pm – Dynasty Handbag, 10pm – Ariel Pink
Thursday 7pm – Barry Johnston, 10pm – Nite Jewel
Friday 7pm – TMO Live, 8pm – Bouquet
Saturday 8pm – The Bushes, 9pm – Yung Jake, 10pm – DJYSL
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Absolut and Art Basel Conversations
Absolut is Associate Partner of Art Basel and supports Conversations. Conversations is a dynamic talks program that brings together leading experts from across the visual arts, including artists, museum directors, curators, collectors, gallery directors and critics, to discuss some of today’s most important issues in the global art market and the wider art community. One of the guiding aspirations of Absolut is to nurture artistic discourse and provide a forum for ideas that are relevant to the art world and to society at large. Absolut makes these discussions widely accessible through digital platforms.