Civic Lubbock, Inc., is proud to announce the installation of the Llano Dancers, located at 9th Street and Avenue K (east of Mahon Library) in downtown Lubbock. The Llano Dancers were previously exhibited through the “Art on the Llano” temporary exhibition series and were located on state property at 19th Street and Quaker Avenue.
Artist Jerry Daniel grew up in Lubbock and is a graduate of Monterey High School. Daniel now resides in Denton, Texas. For over four decades, Jerry Daniel’s sculptures have been exhibited and collected in the United States from coast to coast, as well as in Germany and Austria. For years the focus of his art has been the making of abstract welded steel Dancers. These sculptures are noncontroversial, genderless and timeless which find commonality in all cultures.
Daniel stated, “The “Llano Dancers” are the result of over twenty years of developing and refining my “Dancer” series. The sculptures were created after being invited to exhibit in the Art on the Llano series of exhibits in Lubbock, Texas. Rarely do I design a sculpture by drawing it first. But I still have sketches I made for these sculptures. I try to make each work a complete sculpture that can stand alone; yet, in pairs and groups the visual impact is enhanced by the negative spaces that play between the figures. The figures are complimentary to architecture as well as nature. I hope viewers will see them as joyous forms embracing life, as uplifting symbols of hope. Matisse said it better, ‘I’ve always tried to hide my efforts and wished my works to have the light joyousness of springtime which never let anyone suspect the labor it has cost me.’ “
The Civic Lubbock, Inc., Board plans to host a dedication ceremony for the public later this summer, after site work is complete.
(News release from Civic Lubbock, Inc.)