Homage to Maholy Nagy

1989
8’H x 16’W x 14’D
Painted Aluminum

Private Collection
South Korea

The placement of “Je Souhaite” at the Port of Miami is all about scale and presence. The cruise ships themselves are mammoth moving objects that are sculptural statements in and of themselves.  They are hard to compete with but they do leave port and “Je Souhaite” stands alone waiting to beckon them home once again.  The connection between the two is both symbolic and literal. 

Commissioned by the Arison Arts Foundation for the Miami Art Museum, construction of Je Souhaite  began in 2008. The piece was given an extremely tight time frame for completion as it was to make its debut in The Peninsula Project.  In Je Souhaite John Henry has altered the design of the standard tube and slab components by tapering the forms- transforming them into blades and spears and adding a new dimension of difficulty to the fabrication process.  

Je Souhaite represented Miami in John Henry’s Peninsula Project Exhibition were it was situated in Bicentennial Park at the end of the deep-water slip of the Miami seaport. The City of Miami, The Arison Arts Foundation, Miami Art Museum and TRC Worldwide engineers worked together to bring Je Souhaite to the City of Miami and provide a perfect site for the piece.  The piece now finds its home at the Port of Miami.