Tom Fruin

Street Ministry House 2022

Constructed from welded and powder-coated steel with salvaged acrylic and LED lighting

211 x 168 x 168 cm

$75,000 USD

About the Work

This house sculpture is from my ‘Icon’ series of ‘stained-glass’ structures, where I transform commonplace or infrastructural shapes to encourage the viewer to reconsider their surroundings. This work re-imagines my ‘abject’ found-object quilts to radiate hope and exuberance. It is composed from store-bought and found plastic signage, representing the range of human experience and condition. By day, the work is a kaleidoscope of colour that transforms into a beacon of light at night. The four integrated LED lights will project the colourful scrambled patterns all over the landscape. The sculpture’s human scale and dynamic patterning allow it to have a commanding presence when viewed from a distance and a personal transformative experience from within.

About the Artist

Tom Fruin is a contemporary American sculptor, who currently lives and works in Brooklyn, New York City. Fruin graduated from University of California, Santa Barbara, with a BA in 1996. Known for his large-scale installations, Fruin most commonly uses steel and highly coloured Plexiglass to create monumental sculptures referencing local building structures. He describes his drive to make art that is publicly accessible as well as sustainable by working with reclaimed materials and alternative energy. Fruin’s largest installation to date, the ‘Watertower’ series, is installed on multiple rooftops across New York City and around the country. Other large-scale work has been exhibited in public plazas in Prague, Vienna, Copenhagen, South Korea, and throughout the United States.