ArtForum to bring ‘Lotus’ art display to Naperville’s Paddleboat Quarry this fall

Naperville ArtForum plans to bring a new art piece to the Paddleboat Quarry this fall in lieu of the originally planned “Light Anemones” installation.

Six illuminated lotus flowers will grace the water of the Paddleboat Quarry, inviting Naperville Riverwalk visitors to have a meditative experience, according to ArtForum Treasurer Erin Franczyk.

The piece, fittingly called “Lotus,” will be on display Sept. 26 through Oct. 24 after all of the rental paddleboats have been put away for the season. The Naperville Park Board approved the exhibit at its Thursday meeting.

“People who are visiting (will) feel like they’ve shrunk to the size of an insect (when) they’re walking … around these lotus flowers,” Franczyk said, noting the flowers are about 13 feet wide and 11 feet high. “Lotus flowers have symbolism that expresses renewal and rebirth, and so the installation invites people to kind of slow down and reflect.”

The international art piece was created by Nicolas Paolozzi, a French artist who started a studio in 2017 called MODULE, which creates large-scale installations for public spaces.

According to MODULE’s website, “Lotus” has been displayed in France, Romania and Switzerland. Naperville is slated to be the first U.S. city to host the piece, Franczyk said.

“We’re bringing a global experience to Naperville, so that is very exciting,” she said. “I think it shows that Naperville is willing to invest in cultural experiences and you can have great public art anywhere.”

“Lotus” is meant to be both a celebration of “fragility and a reminder of the enduring strength within the natural world,” MODULE’s description of the art piece said.

“Oversized petals, translucent and softly radiant, float from delicate aluminum frames, forming an immersive landscape,” the description read. “Light filters gently through each flower, creating an atmosphere of calm and quiet wonder.”

Canadian company Wireframe is the group responsible for curating the exhibit. Wireframe also was responsible for curating “Light Anemones,” another floating light installation originally planned for the Paddleboat Quarry this fall but pulled after artist Malte Kebbel alleged he was unaware of the agreement to bring his artwork to Naperville.

“Truth be told, I don’t really know how all of that happened, and it’s not a reflection on Wireframe or anything of that nature,” Franczyk said. “I think it’s a different situation this time and we all did our best to mitigate any sort of confusion.”

Soon after that incident, ArtForum worked with Wireframe to try to find a replacement for “Light Anemones.” When “Lotus” was selected, ArtForum and Wireframe made sure that all communication channels were clear and that everyone was on the same page about it coming to the city, Franczyk said.

“I think that it’s a different group from the very onset. We got the dates nailed down,” she said. “I think that the last time things sort of leaked out through public forums, and so we did our best to really keep this thing sort of as quiet as we could while nailing down all those details.”

ArtForum needs to raise up to $85,000 to bring “Lotus” to Naperville, Franczyk said. Some of that funding already has been secured through Naperville’s Special Events and Community Arts (SECA) program. The $65,000 approved by the city for the “Light Anemones” installation will now go toward “Lotus.”

“ArtForum’s SECA funding remained in place because the project’s overall purpose, public benefit and light art installation component did not change; only the vendor providing the installation changed, which is not considered a Change of Scope under the SECA Program,” Naperville city spokesperson Linda LaCloche said.

As for the remaining money, ArtForum plans to seek private donations. With some funds already in hand, the group needs about $10,000 to meet its goal, Franczyk said.

“We’ve made good progress toward our fundraising goal thanks to support we’ve received from local businesses, organizations and community members,” she said. “We’re continuing to raise funds to reach that goal, and we’d love to see more Naperville businesses get involved.”

cstein@chicagotribune.com