{"id":2291,"date":"2025-07-10T02:01:37","date_gmt":"2025-07-10T02:01:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.diamondstatemanagement.com\/?p=2291"},"modified":"2025-07-12T15:07:11","modified_gmt":"2025-07-12T15:07:11","slug":"monumental-candle-sculptures-by-sterling-ruby-adorn-mamo-at-le-corbusiers-la-cite-radieuse","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.diamondstatemanagement.com\/index.php\/2025\/07\/10\/monumental-candle-sculptures-by-sterling-ruby-adorn-mamo-at-le-corbusiers-la-cite-radieuse\/","title":{"rendered":"monumental candle sculptures by sterling ruby adorn MAMO at le corbusier\u2019s la cit\u00e9 radieuse"},"content":{"rendered":"

Sterling Ruby’s works land at MaMo by Ora \u00cfto<\/strong><\/h2>\n

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Since the end of June 2025, the rooftop of Le Corbusier\u2019s iconic Cit\u00e9 Radieuse in Marseille becomes the stage for a new presentation by American artist Sterling Ruby. Hosted by MAMO, the contemporary art center<\/strong><\/a> founded by Ora \u00cfto<\/strong><\/a>, the exhibition<\/strong><\/a> features DOUBLE CANDLE (2018), a monumental bronze sculpture<\/strong><\/a>, and WALL (2017), the artist\u2019s largest spray painting to date. Installed atop one of the 20th century’s most visionary architectural landmarks, the show runs through September 28th, 2025, and forms a compelling dialogue between form, memory, and modernist space.<\/p>\n

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Sterling Ruby, installation view, 2025 \u00a9 Sterling Ruby; \u00a9 F.L.C. \/ Adagp, Paris, 2025 | photo: Thomas Lannes courtesy Gagosian<\/p>\n

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DOUBLE CANDLE and WALL spark Dialogue with la Cit\u00e9 Radieuse<\/h2>\n

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On the rooftop of Le Corbusier\u2019s Cit\u00e9 Radieuse in Marseille, Sterling Ruby presents DOUBLE CANDLE and WALL in a rare European showing that places two of his most ambitious works into direct conversation with one of modernism’s most iconic buildings. DOUBLE CANDLE, a pair of seven-meter-tall bronze forms cast from soft Polyfleece, stands like sentinels above the city. The sculpture’s patinated surface and retained fabric folds evoke both domestic softness and monumental gravity \u2014 drawing parallels to historical statuary, the Twin Towers, and the rooftop chimneys of the Cit\u00e9 itself.<\/p>\n

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Facing it is WALL, the largest work in the Los Angeles-based artist’s<\/strong> <\/a>SP (Spray Painting) series. Spanning the rooftop wall, its diffused layers of color and recurring horizon lines conjure smoggy vistas, industrial landscapes, and atmospheric tension. In this setting, the painting\u2019s hazy geometry reflects the unique Mediterranean light that once drew C\u00e9zanne and Van Gogh, while its mood of fragmentation resonates with twenty-first-century anxieties. Both works extend Ruby\u2019s interest in material transformation and spatial experience, creating a charged exchange with the Brutalist site. Together, they reframe the rooftop not just as an architectural landmark, but as a platform for contemporary reflection\u2014where structure, memory, and atmosphere converge.<\/p>\n

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Sterling Ruby, installation view, 2025 \u00a9 Sterling Ruby; \u00a9 F.L.C. \/ Adagp, Paris, 2025 | photo: Thomas Lannes courtesy Gagosian<\/p>\n

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On the Rooftop of Le Corbusier<\/h2>\n

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Le Corbusier\u2019s Cit\u00e9 Radieuse, completed in 1952 as a model for collective postwar living, now serves as both a UNESCO World Heritage site and a dynamic backdrop for Sterling Ruby’s monumental installation at MaMo by Ora \u00cfto. Ruby\u2019s DOUBLE CANDLE and WALL do more than occupy this historic rooftop: they engage it directly, transforming its modernist ideals through a contemporary lens. The twin bronze towers of DOUBLE CANDLE echo and distort the rooftop\u2019s sculptural chimneys, while the hazy expanse of WALL refracts the city\u2019s light and layered history into an unsettling urban landscape. Founded in 2013 in the building\u2019s former gymnasium, MaMo has become a vital platform for contemporary art, hosting bold projects that respond to architecture as both space and symbol. Ruby\u2019s installation furthers this mission, turning the rooftop into a site of reflection, tension, and transformation. Here, vertical meets horizontal, monument meets atmosphere, and the utopian vision of the past is filtered through the fractured realities of today.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

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Sterling Ruby, installation view, 2025 \u00a9 Sterling Ruby; \u00a9 F.L.C. \/ Adagp, Paris, 2025 | photo: Thomas Lannes courtesy Gagosian<\/p>\n

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Sterling Ruby DOUBLE CANDLE, 2018 (detail) Patinated bronze 292 x 72 x 32 inches (741.7 x 182.9 x 81.3 cm) Edition of 3 + 1 AP \u00a9 Sterling Ruby courtesy Sterling Ruby Studio and Gagosian<\/p>\n

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Sterling Ruby DOUBLE CANDLE, 2018 (detail) Patinated bronze 292 x 72 x 32 inches (741.7 x 182.9 x 81.3 cm) Edition of 3 + 1 AP \u00a9 Sterling Ruby courtesy Sterling Ruby Studio and Gagosian<\/p>\n

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Sterling Ruby, installation view, 2025 \u00a9 Sterling Ruby; \u00a9 F.L.C. \/ Adagp, Paris, 2025 | photo: Thomas Lannes courtesy Gagosian<\/p>\n

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Sterling Ruby WALL, 2017 Spray paint on synthetic canvas 112 x 278 inches (284.5 x 706.1 cm) \u00a9 Sterling Ruby | photo: Rob McKeever courtesy Gagosian<\/p>\n

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Le Corbusier La Cit\u00e9 radieuse, Unit\u00e9 d\u2019habitation, Marseille, 1945-1952 \u00a9 F.L.C. \/ Adagp, Paris, 2025 | photo: Paul Kozlowski courtesy Fondation Le Corbusier and Gagosian<\/p>\n

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Le Corbusier La Cit\u00e9 radieuse, Unit\u00e9 d\u2019habitation, Marseille, 1945-1952 \u00a9 F.L.C. \/ Adagp, Paris, 2025 | photo: Paul Kozlowski courtesy Fondation Le Corbusier and Gagosian<\/p>\n

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Le Corbusier La Cit\u00e9 radieuse, Unit\u00e9 d\u2019habitation, Marseille, 1945-1952 \u00a9 F.L.C. \/ Adagp, Paris, 2025 | photo: Paul Kozlowski courtesy Fondation Le Corbusier and Gagosian<\/p>\n

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Le Corbusier La Cit\u00e9 radieuse, Unit\u00e9 d\u2019habitation, Marseille, 1945-1952 \u00a9 F.L.C. \/ Adagp, Paris, 2025 | photo: Paul Kozlowski courtesy Fondation Le Corbusier and Gagosian<\/p>\n

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Le Corbusier La Cit\u00e9 radieuse, Unit\u00e9 d\u2019habitation, Marseille, 1945-1952 \u00a9 F.L.C. \/ Adagp, Paris, 2025 | photo: Paul Kozlowski courtesy Fondation Le Corbusier and Gagosian<\/p>\n

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project info:\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

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\nname: <\/strong>DOUBLE CANDLE (2017), WALL (2018)
\nartist: <\/strong>Ruby Sterling<\/a> | @sterlingruby<\/a>
\nlocation: <\/strong>MAMO Art Center<\/a> of La Cit\u00e9 Radieuse, 280 Boulevard Michelet, 13008 Marseille
\ndates:<\/strong> June 27th – September 28th, 2025<\/p>\n

The post monumental candle sculptures by sterling ruby adorn MAMO at le corbusier’s la cit\u00e9 radieuse<\/a> appeared first on designboom | architecture & design magazine<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Sterling Ruby’s works land at MaMo by Ora \u00cfto   Since the end of June 2025, the rooftop of Le Corbusier\u2019s iconic Cit\u00e9 Radieuse in Marseille becomes the stage for a new presentation by American artist Sterling Ruby. Hosted by MAMO, the contemporary art center founded by Ora \u00cfto, the exhibition features DOUBLE CANDLE (2018), […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2294,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[11],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.diamondstatemanagement.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2291"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.diamondstatemanagement.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.diamondstatemanagement.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.diamondstatemanagement.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.diamondstatemanagement.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2291"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"http:\/\/www.diamondstatemanagement.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2291\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2318,"href":"http:\/\/www.diamondstatemanagement.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2291\/revisions\/2318"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.diamondstatemanagement.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2294"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.diamondstatemanagement.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2291"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.diamondstatemanagement.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2291"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.diamondstatemanagement.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2291"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}