3 sculpture finalists vie for spot at Main Beach
Artists Ricardo Duffy, Pat Downing and Sukhdev Dail will present their proposals for a sculpture at Main Beach to the Laguna Beach Arts Commission on Monday.
The three finalists presented their designs in November, but commissioners told them to revise plans to better reflect the location at 107 N. Coast Hwy., noting its prominence and visibility.
“This is the most special place in the whole city,” Commissioner Suzanne Mellor said. “It’s going to be almost like a city logo.”
The Arts Commission will recommend one design to the City Council. The sculpture will be placed within an existing landscape planter and may not exceed 10 feet, according to the city’s website.
Artists from Orange, Los Angeles, Riverside and San Diego counties were eligible.
SUKHDEV DAIL
Age: 73
Residence: Laguna Beach
Specializes in concrete with occasional pieces in bronze and stone. Dail’s work is represented in galleries in the United Kingdom, Carmel, Los Angeles and Laguna Beach.
Dail is submitting three entries for recommendation, including “Sea Breeze,” which shows a woman’s hair “morphing into the wave and exposes the breeze of the sea,” he said. “I had the feeling that the commission would prefer something more contemporary and colorful.”
If his design is chosen, Dail said he will let commissioners determine whether it will primarily be made from concrete, stainless steel or bronze, along with colored glass.
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PAT DOWNING
Age: 66
Residence: San Diego
Specializes in metals and is known for fold-forming, the origami-like process of folding heated metal into dynamic shapes.
Downing’s public art pieces are on display in San Diego and Yuma, Ariz.
His sculpture “One World” depicts an Earth-friendly message that Downing says “may well resonate with the people of Laguna Beach.”
Downing’s piece would be made of steel and feature a hand holding a globe.
“It symbolizes the planet in each of our hands,” he said.
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RICARDO DUFFY
Age: 63
Residence: Laguna Beach
Mixed-media artist who has completed murals and sculptures for public art in Los Angeles and Inglewood and at Ontario International Airport using materials such as ceramics, bronze, aluminum and glass.
Duffy said appreciation for nature and the environment plays a key role in his work. He is submitting three designs, including “Nature’s Marker,” which depicts some of the animals he has seen in and around Laguna Beach, such as deer, red-tailed hawks and sea turtles.
“The sculpture will be a land marker in concept, and will have hand-molded clay in low relief and glazed for the animal forms and clouds,” while incorporating glass mosaic and tile, Duffy wrote in an email.