Dublin Bicentennial Public Artwork Finalists

DUBLIN, OH---Dublin Arts Council Executive Director David S. Guion announced today that three artist finalists have been chosen by the Dublin Bicentennial Public Artwork selection committee to develop a site-specific proposal to create a Bicentennial Public Artwork to be installed in October 2010 at the Dublin Karrer Barn property, 225 South High St., at the southern end of the Historic Dublin district. The property, owned by the City of Dublin, includes a historic bank barn built in the late-1870s that is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

The selected artist will create and install a permanent, three-dimensional site-specific public artwork that will recognize and celebrate the 2010 Bicentennial of the City of Dublin. The artwork will be relevant to Dublin’s past, present and future, respectful to the historic site and will have a substantial artistic impact.

The committee, which consists of five voting and two non-voting members, selected the finalists from a national pool of 119 artist applicants representing 27 states.

The finalists have been contacted by phone and are planning to complete visits to Dublin prior to Nov. 15 so they may have 30 days to develop their proposals. A Dec. 15 presentation to the selection committee and the community will be hosted in the City of Dublin Council Chambers, 5200 Emerald Parkway in Dublin from 6:00 to 9:00 p.m.

The artists include:

Brower Hatcher – Hatcher is a Providence, R.I., public artist with more than 25 years of experience building more than 40 large-scale public art projects. His sculptures are often ‘cellular matrixes’ that create prismatic effects, further enhanced by an embedded cloud of artifacts that relate to a site’s influences and culture, resulting in landmark public art that enhances the sense of community and place. Hatcher works at the historic Steel Yard in Providence as the artistic director of Mid-Ocean Studios, Inc.

Thomas Sayre  - Based in Raleigh, N.C., Sayre co-founded the multidisciplinary design firm, Clearscapes architecture and art, in 1980. As a sculptor, he has been involved in the design and construction of more than 30 projects, ranging from children’s museums to historic renovations. Sayre works in a variety of permanent materials, including concrete, stone, terrazzo, fiberglass and glass marbles. His projects are a result of the confluence of site, budget, social and cultural context and the perceived spirit of the project.

Suikang Zhao – Mr. Zhao, who lives in New York City, is an assistant professor in the Fine Arts Department at State University of New York. His public artworks are not meant to decorate the space, but rather are rooted in the existing architectural concept. Layering context is the key to the artist’s inspiration. Through his artwork, Zhao re-thinks visual elements in terms of displaced environments and minds in the context of today’s world. Zhao’s public artworks are integrated into the organic structure of a particular space and reflect both the cultural / social environment of the region and the people.

“These three artists have been charged to create an important work that celebrates the rich history, present and future of one of the fasted growing and highly regarded communities in the nation,” said Guion. “The finalists are well-respected, prestigious award-winning public artists who have successfully completed numerous national and international commissions. The committee has done a remarkable job in selecting these fine artists to develop fully-articulated design plans for our community.”

The selection committee includes five voting members: community representative Mark Emerson, who has extensive monument and art gallery experience; DAC board member and engineer John Losco; Gayle Holton, Dublin Historical Society representative and graphic designer; Irene Finck, a Columbus-based public art consultant and former program coordinator of the Percent for Art Program through the Office of Individual Creativity with Ohio Arts Council; and Todd Slaughter, a Columbus public artist and Ohio State University professor who created Watch House for the Dublin Art in Public Places program in 1998.

Sara Ott, City of Dublin’s senior project manager participates as a non-voting ex officio committee member.  Guion also serves on the committee in an advisory, non-voting capacity.

The committee will deliberate following the finalist presentations on Dec. 15. An announcement of the $150,000 all-inclusive commission award will be made by Dec. 18. The Dublin Art in Public Places program is administered by Dublin Arts Council and is funded, in part, through an endowment of Bed Tax funds from the City of Dublin.