Pompano Beach To Get New Large-Scale Public Art Work

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by Marie Puleo, Pompano Beach News Reporter

POMPANO BEACH PUBLIC ART: The City of Pompano Beach will soon be getting its largest and most expensive piece of public art.

A bronze and stainless steel sculpture standing over 15 feet tall and weighing 1,200 pounds will be installed at the north entrance of the Pompano Beach Cultural Center, located at 50 W. Atlantic Blvd.

The sculpture, which resembles a giant infinity symbol, is called “Current.” It will be created by San Francisco-based artist Michael Szabo.

The city’s Public Art Committee selected Szabo’s design from among 188 applications received in response to a Call to Artists issued in October 2018. The Public Art Committee was seeking an artist to design “a significant sculpture” to enhance the architecture of the Cultural Center building.

The City Commission, at its Sept. 10 meeting, approved the design and a contract for the commissioned artwork, which will cost $96,600.

In his response to the Call to Artists, Szabo said the sculpture “is an abstracted reference to the infinite and dynamic flow of community, solidarity and creativity the Cultural Arts Center provides its citizens and visitors, which they in turn feed back to the city to create a reciprocal sense of connection and place.”

According to the artist, the satin finish of the brushed stainless steel softly reflects the surrounding environment, while the reds, browns, greens and blues of the rich patina bronze evoke the colors of the area’s leaves, grasses, ocean and skies.

LED up-lighting built into the concrete base will give the piece a dramatic presence at night for drivers and pedestrians, said Szabo.

Laura Atria, the city’s Public Art Program Manager, said one of the reasons the Public Art Committee “felt so passionate about the piece” is because Szabo’s design was directly inspired by how the Cultural Center building itself was created. The building was conceived as a box the architect “unfolded.” Szabo took the infinity symbol and unfolded it just like the building was unfolded.

The architect of the Cultural Center was shown the design of the sculpture and felt it went hand-in-hand with the building, said Atria.

Szabo will complete the fabrication and installation of the artwork within six months.

At its Sept. 10 meeting, the City Commission also approved a contract for another Pompano Beach public art work, a commissioned mosaic mural to be installed in Artists Alley, located behind the Bailey Contemporary Arts (BaCA) building in Pompano’s Old Town district.

The abstract mural will be created by Cynthia Trezona, a Pompano Beach resident. The artwork, which is expected to be installed within three months, will measure 41 inches by 10 feet and cost $4,000.

Trezona is one of the apprentices for the city’s Mosaic Team, a project created by the Public Art Committee to help give artists experience in their craft and expand their careers.

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