SAN ANTONIO — A new sculpture has been installed at Martin Luther King Park on the east side. It honors the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. as well as African-American culture.
Spheres of Reflection is the name of the work, created by local artist Kaldric Dow. The 17-foot steel-and-concrete structure stands at the park's entrance, located at 3503 Martin Luther King Drive.
Dow worked with the city to create the sculpture, which is his first piece of public art.
The lower portion of the sculpture portrays an ambiguous face – meaning it could represent a variety of people and leaves it open to interpretation. The top half has reflective spheres to represent natural hair.
Some of the spheres contain words commonly used by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Dow said he is hoping people will take in his work and see themselves in it.
"The main thing I want them to do is come to a sculpture and feel represented... Right? And feel a way about this piece here," he told KENS 5. "That's my ultimate happiness as an artist, as a creator."
Dow worked on the art for about a year, he said. He had never created anything three-dimensional before – but he worked with the city through the Sketch to Sculpture program to work with fabricators to make his vision come to life.
Dow, who was born in Houston, but lives in San Antonio, studied at the University of Texas at San Antonio. He took informal studio classes, which helped him to establish strong drawing, perspective and an understanding of art history, he said.
Dow’s work can be found in myriad of public and private art collections throughout the United States, and has been seen in numerous exhibitions worldwide.
A public dedication ceremony was originally scheduled for Jan. 11, but has been postponed to a later date in February.