Paweł Althamer’s Queen Mother of Reality is a monumental, mixed media sculpture of an elegant figure that is peacefully reclining in the shaded southern section of the park overlooking the East River waterfront. Althamer’s sculpture is dedicated to and inspired by “Queen Mother” Dr. Delois Blakely, a U.S. Ambassador of Goodwill to Africa,who has been the Community Mayor of Harlem since she was sworn in by Mayor Rudolph Giuliani in 1995. Queen Mother of Reality serves as a call to highlight the numerous displaced and homeless of New York City — Dr. Blakely’s paramount cause.
Originally built as a part of Althamer’s Performa Commission in 2013 for Biba of Williamsburg in East River State Park, Brooklyn, Queen Mother of Reality at Socrates Sculpture Park will act as a platform for creative dialogue and interactive programming, reflecting Socrates’ commitment to engaging audiences through public art. In spring 2014 the sculpture was reassembled by Althamer and his collaborators – a team of artists and community members, including artists Noah Fischer, Roman Stańczak, Rafal Zwirek, and Jim Constanza (aka the Aaron Burr Society), and the artist’s sons Bruno Althamer and Szymon Althamer, as well as members of the community.
Continuing Althamer’s commitment to social collaboration, which underlines most of his work, Queen Mother of Reality will engage audiences through interactive programming organized by Socrates and the artist that will invoke Dr. Blakely’s pursuits of social justice and community building. The sculpture is situated in the midst of an active community. The park is surrounded by three of the nation’s largest public housing complexes (Astoria, Ravenswood, and Queensbridge Houses), and the local community has been a park stakeholder since its creation in 1986.
Paweł Althamer was born in Warsaw Poland in 1967. He attended the Academy of Fine Arts, Warsaw, from 1988–93, studying alongside his frequent collaborator Artur Zmijewski. His solo exhibitions include, The Neighbors at the New Museum in New York (2013); Espace 315 at Centre Pompidou, Paris (2006); Pawel Althamer at Zacheta National Gallery of Art, Warsaw (2005). His work has been exhibited in a number of major international group shows including the 55th Venice Biennale (2013), 8th Gwangju Biennial (2010), Skulptur Projekte Münster (2007), 4th Berlin Biennial (2006), and the 9th Istanbul Biennial (2005).
