Charles Goldman created a self-contained fountain that is solar-powered and mobile. This utilitarian example contrasts with the long tradition of garden fountains that employ elaborate basins and statuary, hidden mechanics, and are often difficult to service. Public Fountain’s stripped-down design emphasizes its elemental mechanics. Not confined to a particular place in the garden, its portability suggests flexibility, mobility and individual control. As a “public” fountain, it can travel beyond the garden to places that lack a connection to nature. As recorded on the video in the gallery, Goldman and friends walked the fountain from his studio in Brooklyn through Manhattan to Wave Hill, demonstrating both its portability and “public-ness.”

Goldman is interested in making experience “actual, tangible, solid” and has exhibited his work in numerous solo exhibitions and projects, including I was born exactly 25 years after Bruce Nauman, Artists Space @ The Armory, New York, NY; New Country, The Philip Feldman Gallery, Portland, OR; PTGS, Robert Birch Gallery, Toronto, Ontario; Between Days, Traywick Gallery, Berkeley, CA; Elsewhere, Sculpture Center, New York, NY. Residencies include Civitella Ranieri Center, Umbertide, Italy; and New Views: World Financial Center/Lower Manhattan Cultural Council, New York, NY. He earned a BA from University of California at Santa Cruz and MFA from the University of Illinois at Chicago. www.charlesgoldmanwork.com