The Elevate Public Art Festival Temporary Arts Program has presented three new installations of public art in Freedom Park. Each year the Elevate Public Arts Festival request submissions for artworks from local Atlanta artist. Once the artworks are selected they remain installed for the entirety of a 1 year unless otherwise extended. The three artists whose works are selected are Joni Younkins-Herzog, Ellex Swavoni, and Mike Wsol. You can currently view these artworks in person in Freedom Park along the east-west section between Moreland Ave and the Beltline intersection. Below are images of the new sculptures and information about the artist.
Joni Younkin-Herzog’s piece “Dance” is an iron statue comprised of legs assembled in the shape of figure eight with a stainless-steel spiral for additional support and whimsey. The figure is 7.2h x 5w x 4.5d feet.
Herzog grew up in the suburbs of Atlanta, GA, and received her Master of Fine Arts in Sculpture from Indiana University. Herzog describes her pieces as a combination of “beauty with absurdity often blurring the lines between reality and fantasy.”
Learn more about the artist by clicking here.
Ellex Swavoni is a self-taught sculptor from Louisville, Kentucky, who currently resides in Atlanta, GA. Swavoni studied graphic design at Campbellsville graduating with a Bachelor of Science in 2014.
Atlantis Rising is a polyurethane, steel, industrial foam, statue painted with purple iridescent Tamco car paint. The piece is an Afro-futurist woman who appears partially submerged beneath the earth, with LED lights adorning her headpiece. The sculpture is 96″h x 60″w x 36″d.
Ellex Swavoni draws her inspiration from the “realms of ancient African artifacts, Comics, and physics.” Learn more about the artist by clicking here.
Mike Wsol is the creator of the sculpture “Guide” made from reclaimed LP Gas Tank and steel. The sculpture is an open-ended capsule sitting on top of a teal pedestal. The viewer is meant to stand in front of the piece gazing inward at what appears to be the image of infinite space. The piece is 10’h x 6’w x 4’d.
Mike Wsol has a Bachelors of Arts, in Three-Dimensional Studio, from Eastern Illinois University; a Master of Arts, in Three Dimensional Studio from Eastern Illinois University, Charleston, Illinois; a Master of Fine Art in Sculpture, from the University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia; and a Master of Architecture from the University of Virginia School of Architecture, Charlottesville, Virginia.
Learn more about the artist by clicking here.