New Beginnings for Journey’s End

New Beginnings for Journey’s End!

Journey’s End, Ilan Averbuch’s monumental sculpture reminiscent of a sinking ship, will soon be reconstructed on the lawn near Wertheim Performing Arts Center. The artist re-envisions the 1997 rendition of the work with materials that are suitable to Miami’s harsh climate. Cor-ten steel will replace the wood beams while retaining the wood-like coloration and rough texture.

The wood and steel components of the current Journey’s End have deteriorated over the years as a result of Miami’s hot and humid climate. The sculpture that Averbuch originally created in 1985 had been damaged once before during Hurricane Andrew, while installed at Grove Isle. Averbuch reconstructed the work here at FIU in 1997, after it was donated by Martin Z. Margulies.

Journey’s End was one of Averbuch’s earliest large-scale sculptures. He created it after a six-month voyage in India. The work distills the many images he saw while on this trip: remains of boats emerging from the sandy bank of a river, vertebrae of large whales and fragments of stone walls precariously jutting out of the ground. The artist’s preoccupation with the image of the boat began with this piece and continues to this day.

Patricia & Phillip Frost Art Museum