Judy’s Hand Pavilion arrives at Toby’s Plaza as part of citywide contemporary-art exhibition
Jul. 11, 2018
Over the past week, a new public art installation has taken shape at Toby’s Plaza: Judy’s Hand Pavilion, part of this summer’s FRONT International: Cleveland Triennial for Contemporary Art.
The piece, designed by Chicago-based artist Tony Tasset, is a silver hand that stands at about 25 feet tall and 7 1/2 feet from the heel of the hand to the ground. At the wrist, it is approximately 10 feet wide. Its exterior is fiberglass, while concrete fills the fingers.
The sculpture is intended to double as a public shelter and gathering spot on Toby’s Plaza, an open space made possible by the support of alumna Toby Devan Lewis, a local author, art curator and philanthropist.
Workers put the finishing touches on "Judy's Hand Pavilion", a 7-ton, 21-foot-high sculpture of a hand on the plaza just the east of the Museum of Contemporary Art Cleveland (MOCA) on June 29, 2018. Chicago artist Tony Tasset created the sculpture from a cast of his wife's hand for the upcoming FRONT International Cleveland Triennial art exhibition. Initiated by Cleveland arts entrepreneur Fred Bidwell, FRONT will be a curated exhibition of works by artists from around the world involving installations and performances at a dozen institutions around Cleveland. The FRONT International Cleveland Triennial is a summer-long exhibit aimed at turning the city into a must-visit destination for art lovers from around the globe. The theme of FRONT's inaugural edition is "An American City".(Lisa DeJong, The Plain Dealer)