Carsten Höller's 30-Meter Slide Opens at Aventura Mall in Miami

Carsten Höller's Aventura Slide Tower, a 30-meter-tall functional spiral slide, was inaugurated last week at Aventura Mall in a Miami suburb. The Belgian artist's installation was commissioned as part of a $200 million renovation and expansion of the shopping center, which includes a luxury food hall, a covered garage, and new stores. Actress Chloë Sevigny attended the opening. Höller told artnet News, 'I like works of art that are not necessarily an end in themselves... I like the idea of inserting the work into a context that is not a museum.' The slide is not the mall's only artwork; since 2005, with the help of collector Norman Braman, Aventura Mall has built a contemporary art collection featuring interactive pieces. Among them is Rainbow Valley by Friends With You Art Collective, an installation for children, and Veiled in a Dream, a bronze sculpture with seating by the late Wendell Castle. Höller has previously installed similar slides at Tate Modern (2006), New Museum New York (2011), Vitra Campus Weil am Rhein (2014), Berlin Biennale (1998), and Miuccia Prada's Milan office.