The Detroit Regional Convention Facility Authority (DRCFA) Art Foundation revealed plans for a new public art outdoor sculpture by internationally acclaimed artist Scott Hocking to sit in the main circle drive of Huntington Place in downtown Detroit.
The 11-foot diameter bronze sculpture, “Floating Citadel,” is expected to be installed by late summer. “Floating Citadel” will join the public art collection at Huntington Place that includes work by internationally respected artists such as Hubert Massey, Robert Sestok, Tyree Guyton, and Gilda Snowden, among others.
“We are thrilled to reveal Scott Hocking as the artist for this stunning civic sculpture, which will welcome our community and visitors to the world-class Huntington Place Convention Center,” says Lisa Canada, board chair and DRCFA Art Foundation Chair. “The sculpture, ‘Floating Citadel’ is a beautiful piece, which will join our other significant artworks at the convention center as we continue to expand our free public art collection.”
Focused on Detroit history and Huntington Place’s status as a global hub of activity, “Floating Citadel” Hocking says is inspired by everything from ancient Native shorelines and French voyageurs to the city’s current status as an artistic, creative, and entrepreneurial beacon.
It is also influenced by the Savoyard Creek and the original Detroit River edge, which ran within steps of this sculpture’s site. The sculpture takes its name from the original walled village boundaries and its defensive core, “the Citadel,” which was located where this sculpture will stand.
“From our first meetings just prior to the COVOD quarantine, to applying the final patina to the bronze, I’m excited to install this work – it’s been a long time coming,” says Hocking. “The whole team at Huntington Place has been great, and I was thrilled that my proposal was chosen.
“To have a large- scale sculpture in Detroit’s Civic Center, joining the likes of Noguchi, Graham, Fredericks, Barr and De Giusti — and to have it located in front of the place that I’ve gone to since I was just a kid at the Auto Show — it’s a real honor.”
The bronze sculpture harkens back to thousands of years of mining in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, and the copper and iron ore that traveled down the Great Lakes to Detroit, creating an industrial giant and auto-industry capital for over 100 years.
All these highlights through history occurred right where this sculpture will be installed, at the corner of Washington and Jefferson, and the work will incorporate all these qualities, to create a monument that speaks to Detroit’s past, present, and future.
Hocking’s artwork has been exhibited internationally, including the Van Abbemuseum, the Kunst- Werke Institute, Kunsthalle Wien, the Gare St Sauveur of Lille, Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, ASU Art Museum, and many more.
He has received multiple awards, including a Kresge Artist Fellowship, a Knight Foundation Arts Challenge Grant, and an Efroymson Contemporary Arts Fellowship. His work is represented locally by David Klein Gallery, Detroit.
