Despedida – Bienvenido

2014

40’H x 12’D
approx. 100′ between elements
Painted Steel

Entry Point City Center
Doral City, Miami-Dade, Florida

At the entry to Downtown Doral Despedida/Bienvenido stands at either side of the square, creating a gateway and landmark entry point for the community.  In John Henry’s signature red, the work combines two separate elements to formulate a connection between those entering Doral and those that live and work there.

Each of the two sections reach toward one another creating sight lines and defining the space in such a way that brings to mind entries to plazas across Europe, working with the architecture to transcend the visual business common to downtown retail areas.

Entrada

2013

50’H x 93’L x 28’D
Painted Steel

Entrance
Pyramid Hills Sculpture Park
Hamilton, Ohio

Conceived as a primary gateway to the reknowned Hamilton, Ohio Sculpture Park, Pyramid Hills, Entrada spans the roadway, creating a gateway for traffic entering and exiting the park.  In John Henry’s signature red, the monumental scale sculpture references the large horizontal works that cemented his career as a sculptor with a clear understanding of engineering and appropriate scale.

In photographs this work maintains a delicacy of spirit that many of Henry’s works are known for.  Belying their tonnage and the intrinsic strength of his materials, Henry places these elements as if they hang from the clouds rather than spring from the earth.

Across the world portals have been erected to indicate an intentional change from one space to another.  These markers transport us from one way of thinking to another, to a shift of emotional states and create an understanding of defined difference in physical space.  Whether we are passing through Ghiberti’s Gates of Paradise in Firenze, under a lintel stone at Stonehenge or simply the doorway to our own home, there is an understanding that once on the other side, we have experienced a subtle shift in our lives.  Passing under and through Entrada brings us to a place that honors the work of internationally known sculptors and the examples of their work collected here.

La Tour

2012
50’H x 25’W x 20’D
Corten Steel

Songbird

2009
89’H x 35’W x 35’D
Painted Steel

5th & Yesler
Seattle, Washington

Commissioned by Martin Selig Real Estate, Mr. Henry was asked to design an iconic piece 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” rises 89′ from the public space/seating area at the base of the site and compete as one of Seattle’s largest public works of art.

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.”

John has professional ties to the city from his early years as a painter and remembers selling his works outside the World’s Fair in 1962. He recalls 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 this proposed challenge.

Je Souhaite

2008
80’H x 30’W x 30’D
Painted Steel

Port of Miami
Miami, Florida

The placement of “Je Souhaite” at the Port of Miami is all about scale and presence. Commissioned by the Arison Arts Foundation for the Miami Art Museum, construction of Je Souhaite  began in 2008 and made its debut in The Peninsula Project. 

In Je Souhaite John Henry has altered his signature design of the tube and slab components by tapering the linear forms- creating blades and spears and adding a new dimension of complexity to the fabrication process.  

Je Souhaite represented Miami in John Henry’s Peninsula Project Exhibition were it was situated in Bicentennial Park at the end of the deep-water slip of the Miami seaport. The City of Miami, The Arison Arts Foundation, Miami Art Museum and TRC Worldwide engineers worked together to bring Je Souhaite to the City of Miami and provide a perfect site for the piece.  The piece is now permanently installed at the Port of Miami.

Complexus

2007
62.75’H x 20’W x 25’D
Painted Steel

Sarasota, Florida

“John’s definitive style is both grand in scale and yet deceptively simple; a paradoxical approach that has been labeled Zen engineering,” says Tom Savage. “The geometric forms that have defined his work for more than 40 years have their aesthetic and historical base in constructivism. ‘Complexus’ is one of his most significant pieces—a signature piece that is physically bold and at the same time embracing the light balletic movement, which suggests lift and gravity defiance.  The scale, color and sheer presence is both a focus for the Sarasota downtown landscape as well as a symbol for the city’s cultural heritage.”

Treemonisha

2006
81’H x 37’W x 35’D
Painted Steel

St. Louis, MO

The sculpture was commissioned in 2007 by the Gateway Foundation in St. Louis, MO. The  piece is the second and tallest in the Falling Card Series.  John planned on a new name, but was asked to come up with one quickly as the Cardinals weren’t doing so well and The Gateway Foundation had no intentions of causing a St. Louis uproar over the sculpture’s installation.  

John often chooses a name that has significance to the area in which he is placing a piece. Treemonisha of course relates to the Scott Joplin Opera written in 1910. John is familiar with and fond of the opera and Scott Joplin was from St. Louis and a major force in American music and American theatre. John wanted to do something that was meaningful to the area of St. Louis, and so the sculpture was named.                                

The sculpture stands at the entrance to the west side of the city where I-55, I-44 and Truman Parkway all intersect. The piece is very dramatic, towering on a hill and visible from miles around.