Client: Champion Global Services
Location: Boston, MA, United States
Completion date: 2021
Artwork budget: $80,000
Project Team
artist
Lyle London
Art in Metal USA LLC
designer
Cerri Sandal
Richmond International
Overview
UK firm Richmond International invited me to create an iconic artwork to anchor an extensive 2 year remodeling of the Langham Boston Hotel. Originally designed in the 1920’s as a Boston Federal Reserve Bank much of the architecture of the bank building had been integrated into the hotel interior, so it seemed appropriate to turn to the series of ‘Liberty’ gold coins created by the US Mint for inspiration. I found the 2019 American Liberty $100 gold coin really beautiful and began to translate the bas relief into a 3D wire mesh sculpture. Eventually the ‘Liberty Head’ sculpture took form. The 8′ high piece was suspended over the Lobby stairs in May 2021.
Goals
The artwork was created to celebrate and acknowledge the founding of the Federal Reserve and the unique character of the Langham Boston as an inheritor of its architectural past.
Process
This project took over 18 months to finalize and had numerous creative iterations. The covid pandemic made collaborative creative work more challenging and uncertain, but no one at Richmond International or myself ever gave up on this creative vision.