SEATTLE– Award winning sculptor John Henry, known throughout the world for his large-scale steel sculpture prepares for the major installation of a brand new work. Commissioned by Martin Selig Real Estate, Mr. Henry was asked to design an iconic element for a brand new building under construction at 5th & Yesler in downtown Seattle. The sculpture titled “Songbird” will sit in a prominent position at the site’s unique bend in the 5th Avenue street grid. “Songbird” will rise 85 feet from the public space/seating area at the base of the site and compete as one of Seattle’s largest public works of art.
The artist has professional ties to the city from his early years as a painter selling his works outside the World’s Fair in 1962. He also remembers his Lake City apartment as the creation site of his first significant sculpture. With a sentimental fondness for the city and respect for the role of Seattle in the Art in Public Places movement, John Henry eagerly took on the proposed challenge.
Henry explains, “After visiting the site at 5th and Yesler, the challenge became clear. The work would have to interact with the sight lines available, yield to the physical demands of the Yesler overpass and still compliment the architectural design of the building. It would be an exercise of creating a piece with enough strength to command the site yet subtle enough not to overpower its surroundings. I made two trips to Seattle and visited the site seven times, each providing new material for the eventual solution to the challenge.”
The sculpture will travel 2,585 miles from John Henry’s studio in Chattanooga, TN to its permanent home in Seattle.