Bon Voyage! and Happy Travels! are two new mosaics located in MSP's Terminal 1 Departures Hall. Designed by Saint Paul-based artist Anne Labovitz and fabricated by Miotto Mosaics Art Studios in traditional Venetian Smalti Glass Mosaic, the works represent the artist's examination of color psychology and transformation of public space in contemporary artmaking practice.
Artist Statement:
Color is an incredibly personal experience that affects human emotions. Anne Labovitz hopes that the saturated colors used in these mosaics will enrich your travel experience with feelings of delight, joyfulness, and wellbeing. The rich, bold Venetian glass mosaic is elegantly hand-crafted and placed by Italian artisans. Notice how the swaths of color consist of not one but many different tones to create the finished mosaic. This profusion of colors is the dominant theme of this work of public art.
Inspired by the phrase "Hope you find what you're looking for!" the artist hopes that the creative energy vibrating within this work will encourage the viewer to engage in cross-cultural exchange with curiosity, optimism, and peace.
About the Artist:
Anne Labovitz (b. Duluth, Minnesota) lives and works in St. Paul, MN. Notable exhibitions include Tweed Museum, Duluth, MN; Athenaeum in La Jolla, CA; Crary Art Gallery, Warren, PA; University of Raparin, Rania, Iraqi Kurdistan; Växjö Kunsthall, Växjö, Sweden; Petrozavodsk City Exhibition Hall, Petrozavodsk, Russia; Isumi City Hall, Isumi City, Japan; MSP Terminal 2, Minneapolis, MN; MSP Terminal 1, Minneapolis, MN; Thunder Bay Art Gallery, Thunder Bay, Canada; Burnet Gallery, Le Méridien Chambers in Minneapolis; Talgut die Schönen, in Kunste, Germany; Chapman Art Center at Cazenovia College, Cazenovia, New York; to name a few.
Labovitz’s artwork can be found in the following public collections Minnesota Museum of American Art, St Paul, MN; The Tweed Museum of Art, Duluth, MN; The Athenaeum Music & Arts Library, La Jolla, CA; Frederick R Weisman Art Museum, Minneapolis, MN; Minnesota Historical Society, St Paul MN; International Gallery of Portrait, in Bosnia-Herzegovina; Växjö Kommun, City of Vaxjo, Sweden; Isumi City Offices, Isumi City Japan; University of Raparin, Rania Iraqi Kurdistan; City of Petrozavodsk, Petrozavodsk, Russia; to name a few.
Current projects include two permanent public mosaic artworks at the MSP Airport, opening March 2021 as well as 122 Conversations currently installed in MSP airport Terminal 2 2019- 2021; Turn Up the Turn Out – a cohort of 22 artists dedicated to the promotion of voting and voting registration in Minnesota, 2020; an outdoor fence installation in Berlin, Germany – June 2021; a public art commission at the Redleaf Center For Family Healing, a site-specific participatory work, opening 2021; the I Love You Institute, a community-based art project supported by a Springboard for the Arts community grant; appointment as the Artist in Residence at Art In Motion, in Holdingford, MN (2020-2021) with an exhibition in Spring 2021; a solo exhibition at Minnesota Marine Art Museum, Winona, MN fall 2022.