10 Works of Public Art that Represent Huntsville in the new City Hall Building
Recognizing and congratulating everyone who worked hard to make City Hall the beautiful building it is. Let’s take a closer look at the art inside.
Huntsville is a city that keeps ingenuity and authenticity as core values. You can really see it in multi-disciplined projects like the new Huntsville City Hall Building. City Hall was a 90 million dollar project that has offered 175,000 sq. ft. of new office space for city workers. It also offered an opportunity to invest into our city’s story. People forget about public art, but it is all around us defining our shared spaces. The art in City Hall is telling the story of Huntsville from different angles and with a variety of mediums. As one of our missions, Lowe Mill A&E wants to shine a spotlight on the public art around us and honor the artists in our studios making it.
The Art in the Lobby
We are thrilled to see local artists taking the vast majority of these public art commissions. These visiting artists give a valuable perspective on our city too. They see the exciting parts of us that we have grown used to. With their artwork, they are lending us their wonder. Let’s take a journey through the lobby.
“Lay of the Land” by Ben Butler
Ben Butler is a sculptor whose favorite material to work with is wood. He loves poplar wood specifically. The first time he came to tour the site, it was just a parking garage slated to be torn down. He asked if the trees on the site could be saved, but they couldn’t. They happened to be poplar trees. He was able to use the wood from those trees to make this three-dimensional topographic map of Huntsville. What he loves about poplar wood is the variation of colors. He handmade every aspect of it. This is a representation of our city in a material that was grown here. You can find this piece hanging on the first floor of City Hall.
“AquaLapis” by Cliff Garten
As you walk up the steps to the second floor, everything tints blue. Look up to see “AquaLapis”, an incredible representation of the natural spring that runs through Big Spring Park. The journey under this massive piece makes you feel like you are walking beneath the underground spring. It actually runs parallel to this piece. Cliff Garten is meticulous. The sculpture is made up of twenty thousand individual handmade glass crystals. It is a beautiful tribute to the city’s iconic natural resource.
“Watermarks” by Shuli Sadé
As you make it to the second floor, you are greeted by a golden shine. This massive film and glass mural is another homage to Huntsville’s connection to water. Shuli Sadé is a multidisciplinary artist who has spent much of her career as an architectural photographer. She is especially interested in memory. She created “Watermarks” with longevity in mind. This is an abstract mural of the city she hopes sparks memories of this moment in Huntsville’s History. She chose the sites and perspectives carefully recreating Huntsville as pedestrians see it. Each glass panel weighs 500 lbs and remains lit up at night.
Public Art from Artists in Lowe Mill A&E’s Studios
The next three artists created narrative depictions of Huntsville from their different mediums. You can read an in-depth dive into each of these works here. They each show Huntsville from a different perspective. As you scroll through, think about the different stories being told about Huntsville. Public art is extremely important to us at Lowe Mill A&E. We know we have the power to help see our story told by local artists. It’s something we are very proud to continue.
“Downtown Huntsville” by Yuri Ozaki Studio 307
Yuri Ozaki gave us the most straight forward story of Huntsville in her acrylic painting of Downtown that she made to scale. Though it is technical and precise, there is something narrative and fantastical to find in the colors and strokes.
“Cityscape Block by Block” by Guadalupe Robinson Studio RR1
Guadalupe Robinson offered a figurative, but familiar quilt of our Cityscape. She used techniques and materials relevant to the history of Huntsville. She brought an earthy tone to our story.
“The Spark” by Ann Moeller Studio 271
Ann Moeller has lived her whole life in Huntsville. She created a figurative mural where young people embody some core tenants of our city: engineering and astronomy, creativity and community involvement. You can read more about these three works and how they relate to each other here.
Coming soon: “Mapping the Night” by David Nuttall Studio 308
David Nuttall is a cartographer and artist. His work is planned to be a map of the lights in Huntsville at night. We can’t wait to see this piece - coming soon!
Local Artists in the Upper Floors
Huntsville Artists are represented everywhere in City Hall. It is so good to see local artists being recognized as the creative powerhouses they are. Our story needs to be told first by our people. Scroll through these incredible local artists to better acquaint yourself with the talent in your community.
“Miracle Territory” by Jahni Moore
“Reflecting the Braille Sky” by Cal Breed
“Transformative Soil: Terra Firma” by Cynthia Wagner
We have so much talent and intellect in Huntsville. As often as we can, let’s look around and take pride in the diverse creativity that thrives here. As you walk through City Hall and Downtown, notice the incredible art available to us.
As always, a special thanks to the Hudson Family who gives Lowe Mill A&E to this community as a gift. Having a centralized champion of local artists gives so much to this city and none of it would be possible without this one family’s grand gesture.