More Arts

• Despite violence, Iraqi art gallery perseveres
• Actress embraces soul of the controversial Rachel Corrie
• Albuquerque theaters welcome five plays spanning dramatic spectrum

MOST RECENT TRIB STORIES

• ABQTrib.com to remain available
  08:48 a.m., February 25, 2008
• Congressman is indicted
  08:37 a.m., February 23, 2008
• Series of attacks target Green Zone
  08:36 a.m., February 23, 2008
• Iran is defying U.N., agency says
  08:35 a.m., February 23, 2008
• Waterboarding approval probed
  08:34 a.m., February 23, 2008

TRIB IN THE BLOGOSPHERE*

• Ty Murray Invitational thrills fans in Albuquerque
• Is Rome Burning?
• Ominous Skies
• The Road to Invalidation
• Albuquerque company participates in “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition”

*Note: The Tribune does not create and is not responsible for the blogosphere's headlines and stories. These links to blogs talking about ABQTrib.com are automatically generated. Use them at your own risk.

STORY TOOLS

• E-mail story
• Comments
• iPod friendly
• Printer friendly

SHARE THIS STORY [?]

Oh, the pitfalls of public art.

The scrutiny. The gripes. The second-guessing.

Everyone has to be happy.

There's the client whose vision and intent must be realized, or no paycheck.

There's the public who look at the artwork, sometimes every day. It can't be too out-there. (Remember the Chevy on a Stick?)

Then there's the artist who wants to be anything but bland, who hates to conform. Public or not, the best artwork makes a personal statement; it pushes the envelope.

Public art is a balancing act, and striking it right is tricky.

That was especially true when the city of Albuquerque went in search of a sculpture to memorialize its 300th birthday. The tricentennial monument had to reflect a long and rich history while tipping its hat to the future. In busy Tiguex Park it would be seen by thousands. Its placement across from the magnificent outdoor sculpture at the Albuquerque Museum set the artistic bar high.

The commission went to a young Italian, Patrick Alo', with ties to Albuquerque. For months, he cut and welded metal at his studio in a former convent in Bolsena, Italy. The sculpture traveled to New Mexico by boat, in pieces.

Alo' assembled it last month, and unveiled it to a waiting city.

He got it right.

The 18-foot-high piece, titled "La Luz de Trescientos A¤os," is composed of four stainless steel panels that, without touching, form an obelisk. The panels stand on a pyramid-shaped concrete base.

Geometric and flowing shapes are cut into each panel, symbolizing the elements of earth, air, fire and water. The panels are polished to a high shine, and the tops jut into the sky.

"What I wanted to capture was the point of contact between the sky and land," Alo' says.

The result is an obelisk like no other: majestic and classical in form yet bold and contemporary in content and execution. Alo' is a master of balancing, with steel, positive and negative space. Shapes lie on top of and are cut into the steel panels, creating texture, depth and windows to the sky and landscape.

Alo' evokes the elements with abstract shapes inspired by New Mexico's cultural symbols. Landscape is seen through the shapes and reflected onto the shiny surfaces.

At night, a light illuminates the sculpture from inside, shining between the panels and cut-out images. It's beautiful and otherworldly.

"New Mexico is by nature one of the most complex areas in the world," Alo' says. "You can never say that you have seen everything or that you understand it. The natural surroundings are magnificent. And Albuquerque and its 300 years of history live at the center of this natural beauty."

Alo', 31, was born in Rome. He says he became a sculptor during the punk period of his life, in his late teens. "Interestingly, the Italian punk scene was characterized by a phenomenon where young people brought life back to abandoned factories and old sheds," he says.

Alo' builds his sculptures from pieces of abandoned cars, motorcycles and machinery. His creations are astonishing. He truly brings the castaway parts to life. Bolts become eyes, crank shafts become legs, springs become ribs. He's created centaurs, gods, knights, female figures, spiders, horses, reptiles, birds, grasshoppers - even a hippopotamus.

Alo' studied art at the IV Liceo Artistico A. Cavallani in Rome and worked for a time as an illustrator of scientific and zoological books. He has had one-man and group shows in Italy and France.

His mother, artist Simone Debbas D'Amico, moved to Albuquerque in 1987, and Alo' since then has divided his time between Italy and the United States, working for three years in Albuquerque with the late, great Italian artist Oskar D'Amico.

In Italy, Alo' lives and works at the Convento S. Maria del Giglio in Bolsena, a former convent turned bed and breakfast. Alo' runs a sculpture school, attracting students from Europe and the United States.

Alo' is working on outdoor sculpture for a housing development in Placitas and says he hopes to bring more of his work to New Mexico.

He's a welcome addition to the state's artistic landscape.