María Magdalena Campos-Pons

María Magdalena Campos-Pons' Searching for Light is currently under consideration for the seventh and eighth High Line Plinth Commissions, to be installed on the High Line in 2029 and 2030.

Standing 19 feet tall, the work depicts a figure wrapped in cereus petals, crowned with a closed bud. A vine runs the length of the spine, mirroring the plant's upward reach. Drawing on the cereus flower — which blooms only briefly after years of dormancy — the piece considers the slow, largely invisible processes behind growth and transformation. It builds on Campos-Pons' recent series of large-scale floral works, following her current presentation Anatomy of the Magnolia Tree for Koyo Kouoh and Toni Morrison at the 61st International Art Exhibition of La Biennale di Venezia, and her installation Imole Red at Desert X AlUla.

This autumn, High Line Art will narrow the full list of nominated artists to a shortlist advancing to the next stage of the selection process, with public feedback on the proposals factored into the curatorial team's decision.

Campos-Pons is one of sixty-two artists nominated for the commission by an international advisory committee convened by High Line Art, comprising Diana Campbell Betancourt, Amanda Carneiro, Emma Enderby, Ekow Eshun, Stefanie Hessler, Jamillah James, Storm Janse van Rensburg, Venus Lau, and Miguel López. The High Line Plinth program is led by Cecilia Alemani, Director and Chief Curator of High Line Art.