‘A Good Time Then’ unveiled

0

Award-winning heavy metal sculptor Mac Worthington visited downtown Delaware on Friday evening for the unveiling of his “A Good Time Then” sculpture, which is now on display on East Winter Street, between the Strand Theatre and Gallery 22.

The tall, sleek, towering bright red aluminum sculpture stands almost 10 feet tall, which Worthington said “speaks volumes and is representative of Gallery 22’s art movement.”

Worthington added, “I find abstract heavy iron sculpture to be romantic.”

Arts Castle Executive Director Diane Hodge said the process to have the sculpture installed near the entrance to Gallery 22, 22 E. Winter St., Delaware, began early on this year because it took time to get the permit from the City of Delaware.

“It’s a first, and everybody had questions,” she said.

The Arts Castle in August 2014 leased space within the Strand Theatre and Cultural Arts Association complex to continue to have an art gallery downtown.

“A Good Time Then” has been displayed in the sculpture park on the grounds of the Arts Castle, 190 W. Winter St., Delaware, for about a year.

Worthington recalls the day he installed “A Good Time Then” and other sculptures in the park, it was a very hot day and his birthday. He said the park has nine or 10 of his sculptures displayed there, and he is working on one to occupy the space where “A Good Time Then” once stood.

“The ‘The Speed of Attention’ is almost done to replace ‘A Good Time Then’ in the sculpture park,” he said.

Worthington added that both his parents were artists. His father sculpted busts for the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton.

“I’m what I refer to as a cradle artist,” he said. “I grew up with it.”

Worthington, 71, works from his Columbus studio located at 138 N. High St. in the Atlas Luxury Apartments, a historically renovated building. He said as a self-taught artist, he has been very fortunate that his work has been so well-received and that he is lucky enough to be a sculptor full-time, doing commission and what he calls “off-the-rack” work.

“I have a nice, close, loyal following,” he said.

“People buy for two big reasons, color and space,” he said about his commissioned work, which at times, he is forced to conform to the buyer’s wishes. However, “They have been well-received or I wouldn’t do them. If you’re going to do this to make a living but say you’re not going to do (what the patron has asked), you just lost $1,000. So, I incorporate their ideas of color and space.”

However, he said, the best ones are always the impulse-driven ones.

“The ideas come easily to me. It’s the time it takes to do the pieces that is hard,” he said. “I do my best when I just start and keep going rather than a rigid design. In most cases, when I think I’m done, the next day I will find myself adding to the piece again. It’s a never-ending process.”

Worthington’s art doesn’t convey messages, themes or causes of any kind. His vision is more focused on space and design.

“All of my work is radical or expressionistic abstract,” he said.

Worthington’s body of work includes wall sculptures, paintings of cityscapes, outdoor sculptures, functional art, and public and corporate art that is all “radical or expressionistic abstract.”

Hunched over his heavy-duty power drill, award-winning heavy metal sculptor Mac Worthington installs his nearly 10-foot-tall sculpture in front of Gallery 22 in downtown Delaware Friday afternoon. The sculpture, “A Good Time Then,” was unveiled during Main Street Delaware’s September First Friday celebration. The sculpture is now on permanent display on East Winter Street.
http://www.delgazette.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/40/2018/09/web1_DSC_3414-copy.jpgHunched over his heavy-duty power drill, award-winning heavy metal sculptor Mac Worthington installs his nearly 10-foot-tall sculpture in front of Gallery 22 in downtown Delaware Friday afternoon. The sculpture, “A Good Time Then,” was unveiled during Main Street Delaware’s September First Friday celebration. The sculpture is now on permanent display on East Winter Street. D. Anthony Botkin | The Gazette

By D. Anthony Botkin

[email protected]

Contact D. Anthony Botkin at 740-413-0902. Follow him on Twitter @dabotkin.

No posts to display