Just in time for the Super Bowl, downtown Tampa has temporarily acquired a monumental scale public sculpture to brighten its waterfront (or serve as yet another eyesore, depending on your perspective). If you haven’t glimpsed Chattanooga-based artist John Henry’s giant, red steel sculpture — dubbed “Big Max” and reminiscent of three chopsticks precariously balanced atop MacDill Park — take a walk down Ashley Drive behind the Convention Center or over the Platt Street Bridge. Before you make up your mind — love it, hate it or neither? — head to an accompanying exhibition at the Tampa Museum of Art, Florida Collects, to view smaller examples of Henry’s sculpture drawn from private collections in the state of Florida. As part of the statewide showcase, Drawing in Space: The Peninsula Project, institutions in Boca Raton, Miami, Naples, Orlando, Sarasota and Tallahassee are also featuring his work. “Big Max” sculpture by John Henry remains on view through May 31 in MacDill Park, near the intersection of Ashley Drive and Whiting Street, downtown Tampa; Florida Collects runs Jan. 17-Apr. 4, 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Tues.-Sat., TMA, 2306 N. Howard Ave., Tampa, 813-274-8130.
This article appears in Jan 7-13, 2009.