Sculptures could be installed in Jefferson Park & Six Corners
by BRIAN NADIG
Two sculptures could be installed the Jefferson Park and Six Corners commercial districts as part of a program which brings public art to city neighborhoods.
Former alderman Vi Daley founded the Chicago Sculpture Exhibit in 2001 in an effort to beautify the Lincoln Park area, and since then the nonprofit group has sponsored public art in several areas of the city, including Edgewater, Lakeview and Bucktown.
The Chicago Sculpture Exhibit solicits artists each year, and a jury selects the best entries, according to group member Eric Craig. The organization also sponsors trolley tours to the sculptures.
Works of art will installed on the Far Northwest Side for the first time this summer. Alderman John Arena (45th) helped raise funds for the project.
Those interested in the program are asked to help identify sponsors whose donations will cover the fee of $3,500 for each sculpture, which are displayed for one year. The temporary displays generate publicity for the artists, who are looking for buyers of their art.
One of the sculptures will be installed at the southeast corner of Milwaukee and Lawrence avenues, in front of the parking lot for CVS Pharmacy, 4777 N. Milwaukee Ave. The installation could occur by late May, Craig said.
The original developer of the drug store agreed to install a piece of art at the site in exchange for a special use permit for a drive-through facility. However, after residents filed a lawsuit to stop the drive-through proposal, that developer abandoned the project, and the art display was never installed even though the pharmacy was eventually built.
The 10-foot-tall aluminum sculpture planned for Jefferson Park is called “Twin Souls,” by Gus and Lin Ocamposilva. The couple’s work is inspired by their passion for nature and life, and their images are created with bended forms of aluminum that incorporate tubes, exposed bolts and bright colors, according to their Web site.
Plans for a sculpture at Six Corners have not been completed, Craig said.
A statue of Thomas Jefferson statue was installed in 2005 at the Jefferson Park CTA terminal, 4917 N. Milwaukee Ave., and an aluminum sculpture of a Native American portaging a canoe was installed last year in the 4000 block of North Cicero Avenue.
