Royal Palm Beach‘s Art in Public Places program has two new additions.
The projects were approved unanimously at the Village Council’s Jan. 19 meeting.
‘Transcendence’
A stainless steel piece entitled “Transcendence” by local artist Robert Fehre was approved for the northeast corner of the R.P. Logistics LLC warehouse that was approved for construction by the village last year.
The piece will stand 10 feet high and 8 feet wide. It consists of three stainless steel pillars connected by three circles of increasing size from bottom to top. Fabrication on the sculpture is scheduled to begin in February with installation in June, Fehre told the council.
Initially, the piece was meant to reflect the R.P. Logistics owner’s three daughters, and the artist “was working with the element of using three in some sort of way,” Fehre said.
“As time went on, the name ‘Transcendence’ kind of meant a lot to me in my life,” he said, adding that he felt called to inspire others, as he does with all of his artwork, in that everyone goes through traumatic experiences. “That really is the core and meaning of this,” he said.
Michael Lanford of R.P. Logistics said he found Fehre through the Cultural Council for Palm Beach County, and though Lanford had spoken with three artists, he hit it off with Fehre. “To his benefit, he has worked so hard to get this to where it is right now,” Lanford said.
The council lauded Fehre for his vision for the design.
“I do think it enriches not only the site but the village,” said Councilman Richard Valuntas.
“I think it’s a very attractive art piece,” Mayor Fred Pinto said. “… I think it’s caught the character of our village. I think you’ve caught it, and you don’t realize you did, but you did.”
Xan Padron
The council also approved a plan to work with internationally renowned photographer Xan Padron to commission a piece for the Royal Palm Beach Cultural Center.
The new piece will be in Padron’s signature style, where he photographs people walking past one spot in a community and then creates a digital piece of art.
Padron’s style gives a glimpse into every walk of life in a community, Mario Lopez Pisani, public art professional for Royal Palm Beach, told the council when asked by Vice Mayor Selena Samios why he was drawn to Padron in particular.
“I think it would be such a good representation, especially for capturing our residents,” he said.
As part of the $25,000 contract with Padron, the village also will buy a piece from Padron’s inventory entitled “We The People,” a framed time-lapse photograph set against the American flag. That piece will hang in a hallway near the Cultural Center’s kitchen, Pisani said.
The budget for the project is $30,000, but will come in under that after the council directed Pisani to change the project’s scope following an initial review of the plan in December.
Pisani hopes to have Padron in Royal Palm Beach to shoot images for the piece, potentially at a village event, in February or March.
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