One year later, Fruitville roundabout art decision nears

After the Sarasota City Commission sent the Public Art Committee back to the drawing board for a new recommendation of a sculpture for the roundabout at Fruitville Road and U.S. 41, it is on track to present three finalists about a year later. 

In April 2022, commissioners rejected the committee’s endorsement of “Dwell” — a coral-shaped sculpture by New York artist Sujin Lim — the overwhelming opinion being it bore no relevance to the city or its environment. 

Lim is in the running again with two other artists, Mark Reigelman of New York City and Shan Shan Sheng of San Francisco, as the committee met with each of the three via Zoom last week to discuss further refinements of their concepts to be placed inside the traffic circle.

“This is a design development process and we're in the second review phase,” said Senior Planner Mary Davis Wallace, who spearheads the city’s public art initiative. “At our last meeting we all heard presentations and we were able to provide comments. This is now the response to those comments.”

Each artist made presentations of the partially developed progress from their original concepts, then answered questions and heard feedback from the committee. The artists will make their final presentations to the committee on April 18, exactly one year after the commission rejected Dwell. On May 3, the committee will make its final recommendations to commissioners. 

“This is really the last time that you’re going to have a good dialogue with each of the artists,” Wallace said. 

Chairman Jeff Jamison said the April 18 meeting will also provide an opportunity for the public to provide their thoughts to the committee on the order of preference.

Courtesy rendering

Combining inspiration from the Sunshine Skyway Bridge and Sarasota’s climate, Lim’s sculpture is two clouds suspended in the air by angled sunbeams that resemble the suspension cables of the Skyway Bridge. The sunbeams are illuminated a bright yellow at night and the clouds lighted internally to render a soft glow. Atop the largest cloud is perched a tiny house, also lighted from inside.

Lim describes the house as conveying a sense of home among the natural environment of the city inspired by sunbeams shining down through openings in the passing clouds. The base would be buried beneath the surface and covered by grass and landscaping to it lend the appearance of glowing down upon a natural hillside.

Courtesy rendering

Mark Reigelman, ‘Snowbirds’

Something of a whimsical throw-away during his original presentation, committee members gravitated toward Reigelman’s totems of multiple birds. The revised version of three juncos — ironically non-migratory birds — balanced atop heads was inspired by a combination of the city’s circus history, “While examining our own migratory impulses versus the desire to stay put.”

Reigelman’s refined concept reduced the number of stacked birds to three, allowing him to make them larger. They can be fabricated into multiple colors or one, all pointing toward the setting sun or in another direction to take better advantage of positioning.

Reigelman described the sculpture as a whimsical tribute to Sarasota and its residents, capturing the essence of its culture and history through a contemporary lens.

Courtesy rendering

Shan Shan Sheng, ‘Dancing Clouds’

Tapping into her penchant for using multicolored architectural glass in her sculpture, Sheng incorporates multiple shapes and forms in cloud-like panels suspended atop steel rods. The colors will appear different throughout the day and varying weather conditions, and would be unlighted at night. 

The concept shows more than 20 panels ranging in sizes from 3-9 feet across and composed of sturdy architectural glass used in building construction to withstand the elements. Sheng said the sculpture is designed to be pleasing whether viewed from ground level or from above via the condominiums that surround the roundabout.

The medium, she said, connects the sky with the crystal beaches of Sarasota.