The Institute of Contemporary Art Miami is set to double in size with the purchase of a building once occupied by the de la Cruz Collection, the defunct art space run by the late collector Rosa de la Cruz and her husband Carlos.
On Tuesday, the Miami Herald reported that the ICA had purchased the building for $25 million, allowing the museum to expand by 30,000 square feet. The institution will use the building, which is located next door to the ICA’s current space, to mount exhibitions and other programming.
Alex Gartenfeld, the ICA’s artistic director, told the Herald that contributions from private individuals, including Miami real estate magnate Craig Robins, helped enable the purchase. Before officially reopening it to the public, the museum is planning to renovate the space.
“It’s a really momentous occasion,” Gartenfeld told the Herald. “It happens to coincide with the close of our 10 year anniversary. It coincides with us welcoming over 1 million visitors. It really does feel like an affirmation of our mission, which is free access to the best in arts and education.”
The de la Cruz Collection was opened in 2009 and remained one of Miami’s top art spaces until earlier this year. Shortly after Rosa de la Cruz’s passing in February, Carlos shuttered the de la Cruz Collection and proceeded to sell works from its holdings at auction at Christie’s, with prime pieces by Felix Gonzalez-Torres and Ana Mendieta minting new records in the process. The de la Cruzes were mainstays on the ARTnews Top 200 Collectors list prior to Rosa’s death.
Carlos’s decision to auction off works collected by him and Rosa was controversial within Miami. Some in the city’s art scene feared that in closing the collection, Carlos had deprived the city of a crucial part of its ecosystem.
In a statement to the Miami Herald, Carlos praised the purchase, saying that he was “really happy to have helped the ICA to grow.”
Although plans for the building are still coming into focus, the Herald reported that there will be a space in it for the ICA’s permanent collection, the vast majority of which is largely kept off view. “I can’t overstate how important it is to have this expanded space to really tell a story about our community,” Gartenfeld said.
