The monumental new sculpture Rocket by Hubert Phipps has been selected for an Art in Public Places initiative in South Florida, at the Boca Raton Innovation Campus (BRiC), the historic tech landmark where the first IBM Personal Computer was invented.
South Florida officials heralded this announcement with an unveiling ceremony at BRiC, officially welcoming Rocket as one of the largest outdoor sculptures ever chosen for a public art initiative in Palm Beach County.
The Phipps sculpture is valued at $1.5 million, stands 30-feet tall, weighs 9.8 tons, and took more than 2,200 square feet of stainless steel to construct. It towers alongside a waterfront panorama of iconic architecture designed by Marcel Breuer in the 1960s.
This celebrated architectural style by Breuer is rarely seen at this grand of a scale, spanning so many acres.
The new sculpture by Phipps and the historic buildings designed by Breuer marry each other well in the Brutalist style, creating a powerful visual impact. Watch the aerial video here.
“The sculpture by Hubert Phipps was conceived as that intersection between art and science, and celebrates the heroics of modern engineering, as also seen in Marcel Breuer’s historic building designs for IBM’s North American Research and Development Headquarters,” said Irvin Lippman, the Executive Director of the Boca Raton Museum of Art.
The sculpture is fast becoming a must-see spot in South Florida for art lovers who cherish selfies with awe-inspiring artworks. “I am honored to have my artwork selected for this public art initiative by the Boca Raton Museum of Art,” said Phipps.
“It is inspiring to see the Rocket sculpture surrounded by the creative genius of Marcel Breuer’s architecture at the Boca Raton Innovation Campus, where so much history was made in the realms of technology.”
Photography by Augustus Mayhew.
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