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The Gathering Press Release
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 27, 2005
Public Art Work “The Gathering” Installed At Webb Wesconnett Branch Public Library
JACKSONVILLE, FL – A new installation of public art by St .Augustine, Fl. artist Paul Braun at the Webb Wesconnett Branch Public Library was completed April 21 for the city’s Art in Public Places Commission. Braun created a grouping of three stone sculptures, varying in size from roughly 4’ high and 2’ thick, to a 6’ high ‘monolith.’ The Black Soapstone, quarried in Virginia, is left rough in some places, carved in others with abstract symbols and patterns. The art was commissioned by the Jacksonville Art in Public Places Program and is installed on the entry plaza in front of the library’s new picture-windows and compliments its characteristic arches.
This installation is the seventh of fourteen major public art installations slated for the Jacksonville Public Library, complementing this year’s installations of Larry Kirkland’s bronze owl sculpture, “Wisdom,” at the new Main Library; Liz Mapelli’s glass panel sculpture “SquirrelyQ” at the new Argyle Branch; Kelli Bickman’s mural, “Imagination Tree” at Brentwood Branch; BJ Katz glass panel “Sun Salutations at the Southeast Branch; and Joe Segal’s concrete and marble aggregate sculpture “Revelation” at the San Marco Branch Library.
“Paul Braun’s work had just the right appeal for this particular library, with its strong architecture and open-air front plaza,” said Jeff Dunn, Chairman of the Art in Public Places Commission. “His work has classic themes and workmanship matched with a contemporary form that works beautifully in the space.”
Paul Braun’s sculpture can be seen in galleries in California, Florida, Idaho, Ohio, New Mexico and Washington. His works have been displayed locally at the Ponte Vedra Cultural Center, Bryant Design Co. in Jacksonville as well as in several private collections. “I feel sculpture is about creating form in which the artist exhibits control, balance, and mystery,” Braun says. “No matter what medium is used, these elements should be communicated. Inspiration from ancient constructions and carvings has guided me to develop work that combines age-old concepts with contemporary forms.”
The Art in Public Places Program is directed by the City’s Art in Public Places Commission, with assistance provided by the Cultural Council of Greater Jacksonville. For more information on Jacksonville’s public art program, contact the Art in Public Places Office at 358-3600, or visit the website at www.culturalcouncil.org.