Roses
2026 On view
Artist Tom Burr
DetailsPowder-coated steel fencing, red-tinted acrylic security mirrors, powder-coated steel folding chairs, direct printing on aluminum composite material, gravel, hardware
Curator Jordan Carter
Address
3724 Grandel Square
St. Louis, MO
Site Description
Accessibility: Free and metered street parking is available. The artwork is located outdoors and open from sunrise to sunset. Pathways are made of grass and are not ADA accessible.
Artwork Details
About the Artwork
Roses continues Tom Burr’s long engagement with parkscapes, garden constructions, and reconfigured architecture. The work takes the form of two inverted, misaligned right angles made of chain-link fencing. Rose-tinted safety and surveillance mirrors, along with chairs, are attached to the fencing. Park-inspired signage connects historical figures and public regulations. For Burr, the rose functions as both a material metaphor and a historical reference. He draws from the life of Rose Williams, the sister of playwright Tennessee Williams, whose institutionalization affected Williams greatly. Burr places Rose within a lineage of queer figures who stand in for voice, presence, and resistance.
Courtesy of Bortolami Gallery.