FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Foundation for Art and Preservation in Embassies Commissions Don Gummer for Major Site-Specific Sculpture at the U.S. Embassy in Moscow Don Gummer, Woman Reclining, Don Gummer, The Embrace, 1994. 1993. Cast bronze and aluminum. 95 x Cast bronze and aluminum. 103 x 96 x 86 x 42 inches. Courtesy of the artist. 84 inches. Courtesy of the artist. Washington, D.C. – November 24, 2014 - The Foundation for Art and Preservation in Embassies (FAPE) is pleased to announce that Don Gummer will create a sculpture for the U.S. Embassy in Moscow, Russia, as part of its Site-Specific Collection. Gummer’s design will be unveiled during FAPE’s Annual Events in April 2015, in Washington, D.C. The installation is planned for 2016. “My work for Moscow will express the openness and optimism of America. I am proposing a tall, vertical sculpture that will represent our multicultural energy, while remaining solid and well grounded. It is important that it reflect both the individuality and interconnectedness of our countries,” said Gummer. “It is an honor to share my work with the Russian community, and I appreciate FAPE’s dedication to the project.” Gummer’s sculpture is the 18th work commissioned for FAPE’s Site-Specific Collection. The program was established in 1999 when Joel Shapiro created Conjunction, a forty-foot bronze that stands on the front lawn of the U.S. Embassy in Ottawa, Canada. The Collection includes works by Lynda Benglis (Mumbai, India); Louise Bourgeois (Beijing, China); Ron Gorchov (New York, USA); Ellsworth Kelly (Beijing, China; Berlin, Germany); Sol LeWitt (Berlin, Germany; Tunis, Tunisia; New York, USA); Maya Lin (Istanbul, Turkey); Elie Nadelman (London, United Kingdom); Odili Donald Odita (New York, USA); Martin Puryear (Beijing, China); Joel Shapiro (Ottawa, Canada; Guangzhou, China); Michael Singer (Athens, Greece); Dorothea Rockburne (Kingston, Jamaica); and Elyn Zimmerman (Dar es Salaam, Tanzania). “FAPE’s Site-Specific Collection allows us to bring spectacular works of original American art to U.S. embassies around the world. Art is universal, and can serve as an important tool in cultural diplomacy, transcending boundaries, languages, and conflict,” said FAPE Chairman Jo Carole Lauder. Page 1 of 2 FAPE is assisted by an advisory committee of prominent arts professionals chaired by Robert Storr, Dean of the Yale School of Art. Once an artist has been selected and has agreed to create a work, the embassy architects, the State Department, and the artist work together to ensure that the art is sensitively integrated within the site. The works are all donated by the artists, and FAPE provides the funds to pay for their fabrication and installation. About Don Gummer (American, b. Louisville, Kentucky, 1946) Don Gummer is an American sculptor who has worked with various materials such as bronze, stainless steel, aluminum and stained glass. From 1966 to 1970, Gummer studied at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, Massachusetts, and then completed his studies at the Yale School of Art in New Haven, Connecticut, where he received a Bachelor of Fine Arts and a Master of Fine Arts in 1973. In 2009, he received an honorary degree from Indiana University. Gummer had his first solo exhibition in 1973. Since then, his work has been featured at more than thirty solo exhibitions in the U.S. and internationally, including: Artists Space, Sperone Westwater Fischer, Salander- O'Reilly Galleries, Marlborough, Allegra LaViola Gallery, and Morrison Gallery, in New York; Daniel Weinberg Gallery, Fred Hoffman Gallery, and Imago Galleries, in California; The Akron Art Museum and Butler Institute of American Art in Ohio; Eckert Fine Arts in Florida; MASS MoCA in Massachusetts; and internationally in Kitakyushu International Center in Japan and Galleria delle Esposizioni Benucci in Italy. His work is also included in public and private collections at: MASS MoCA in Massachusetts; Indiana University, Meridian Street Plaza, Eugene and Marilyn Glick Eye Institute, and the Evansville Museum of Arts and Science in Indiana; The Butler Institute of American Art in Ohio; Chase Manhattan Bank, Chemical Bank, The Equitable, McCroy Corporation, and Joseph E. Seagram Company in New York; Ohio Vallery Art League in Kentucky; Creative Artists Association in Louisiana; and internationally at Hiroshima Lying-in Hospital, Kitayushu Concert Hall in Japan, Louisiana Museum in Denmark, among others. Gummer has received prestigious awards from the Louis Comfort Tiffany Foundation, the National Endowment for the Arts, and has been a visiting artist at the American Academy in Rome. He lives and works in New York City. About FAPE FAPE is the leading public-private partnership dedicated to providing permanent works of American art for U.S. embassies worldwide through site-specific commissions, original print and photography collections, preservation projects and other arts initiatives. It contributes to the U.S. Department of State’s mission of cultural diplomacy by partnering with American artists whose gifts encourage cross-cultural understanding within the diplomatic community and the international public. All artworks commissioned or placed by FAPE are gifts, representing the generosity and patriotism of some of the country’s greatest artists and donors. As of 2014, FAPE’s contributions include permanent works by more than 200 preeminent American artists placed in more than 140 countries. FAPE was founded in 1986 by Leonore Annenberg, Wendy W. Luers, Lee Kimche McGrath and Carol Price. Its current leadership includes Chairman Jo Carole Lauder, President Eden Rafshoon, Vice President Darren Walker, and Director Jennifer A. Duncan. A volunteer advisory committee chaired by Robert Storr, Dean of the Yale School of Art, selects and commissions all FAPE artists. FAPE underwrites the fabrication and installation, and is exclusively funded through individual, foundation and corporate donations. Further information about FAPE can be found at www.fapeglobal.org. Follow FAPE’s announcements, events and artists on Facebook, Instagram and #FAPEglobal. ### Media Contacts: For more information on FAPE, images, or to arrange interviews, members of the media please contact: Rachel Patall-David, or Pamela Hernandez Blue Medium Inc. (212) 675-1800 [email protected] [email protected] Page 2 of 2 .