LEXINGTON, Ky. — The Lexington Detention Center put out a call to artists to help them add inspirational and mindful artwork to the building and has selected their artist.
Dave Caudill, an artist with an emphasis on raw materials, is the creative force behind a new display in Lexington. It’s a 9,000-pound sculpture that will stand outside the entrance of the Lexington detention center.
“Public works and outdoor work is different from anything that you would do for an internal display, you know, even the mild steel that might rust,” Caudill said. “Ordinarily, if it’s inside an air-conditioned facility, a building in April, or something like that, you might not have any problem.”
Caudill pursued artistry in school and at the Louisville School of Art. He says he developed a passion for 3D art, sculpting and the use of materials.
He’s left his mark across the country with sculptures from Louisville to Louisiana, under the sea in the Bahamas, at the University of Kentucky campus and surrounding states.
He says he creates “visual music”.
“It’s meant to be just a thing in its own right. Something that you experience, something that you feel. And if it reminds you of something else, that’s fine. That’s not a problem. Different people see artwork in different ways, and I think that’s one of the attractions of abstract art,” he said.
His assistant John Lloyd says Caudill has taught him several things in the field about artistry, such as blue sky thinking. It’s a concept Caudill defines as art that includes a special perspective to make the audience look up toward the sky.
Welding is one of the skills he uses for his specific designs of steel, bronze and other materials.
Caudill says he wants people in and around the center to have thought-provoking moments with his sculpture and that it inspires hope.
“It something that’s applicable to everybody who’s involved with the detention center, the staff, the people who are inmates, and their families,” Caudill explained. “Even people driving by. I mean, we all have hope that sustains us in challenging moments. Thought for a theme for this sculpture, that the idea of hope was most important.”
He and a team of craftspeople will use heavy-duty machinery to bring his vision to life in Louisville and transport that to Lexington to be installed.