Acclaimed sculptor's work bound for prominent intown ATL corner

If you’ve recently been perplexed by what looks like the beginning of townhome construction in a prominent park setting along John Lewis Freedom Parkway, you haven’t been alone.

Surrounded by chain-link and construction fencing, the Poncey-Highland site isn’t home to more private investment—but instead a substantial investment by the City of Atlanta in public art.  

Poncey-Highland Neighborhood Association leaders tell Urbanize Atlanta the site work marks the installation of a large sculpture by Spanish artist Jaume Plensa, whose works depicting human forms (notably, towering faces with eyes serenely closed) dot cities throughout the world and have garnered international awards.

Plensa’s first public sculpture in Atlanta will be located at the northeast corner of John Lewis Freedom Parkway and North Highland Avenue, alongside the Freedom Park Trail connecting downtown to Stone Mountain. The construction site is immediately south of the former Babette’s Café, which closed in May after 30 years in business.  

Titled “Self Portrait III” and standing about 11 by 11 feet, the 2017 piece was acquired as part of $4.1 million allocated to buy nine "landmark works” in the tax-funded Renew Atlanta Public Art Program. The centerpiece sculpture in Midtown’s new Commercial Row Commons was acquired through the same program.

According to city officials, it’s part of the highest-caliber artwork Atlanta has ever purchased, with a goal of making museum-quality works accessible to all in highly visible locations.

Construction of Plensa’s work in Poncey-Highland isn’t expected to require lane closures—except for when concrete is poured for the sculpture’s base, according to PNHA.

The artwork is scheduled to be in place by year’s end, with landscaping to follow. According to neighborhood leaders, a dedication ceremony is planned for around March next year.

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