David Grieco: "Art changes a city"
A Los Angeles artist who grew up in the North Country laid the foundation for a new public sculpture this month. Watertown native David Grieco...
Oct 31, 2022 — A Los Angeles artist who grew up in the North Country laid the foundation for a new public sculpture this month. Watertown native David Grieco returned to the city to begin work on his sculpture, titled Alchemy 432, which will be in the city's Public Square. It'll be unveiled next summer.
Grieco, along with local construction and cement crews, spent the last couple of weeks digging and pouring the cement base for the steel sculpture in the shape of an open book atop a stone base.
Grieco's sculpture design was chosen for a public art project funded by Watertown's Downtown Revitalization Initiative program. Senior city planner Jennifer Voss, says the $135,000 dollar project is part of the city's $10-million dollar DRI awarded in 2017. "It's super exciting for me. We've always wanted to get the ball rolling on more public art. So, this, to me is like the beginning of a bigger project. This, hopefully, will spur public art all around the city," she says.
Over the winter months, Grieco will build the stainless steel sculpture at a facility in Los Angeles, and it will be trucked to Watertown next summer. Todd Moe caught up with Grieco last Friday in Watertown, at the site of his sculpture. The mild weather lately means the sculpture project is on schedule. He told Todd Moe that he’s excited to “give back” to his hometown.
"People are like, 'David, do you really want to do this?' I go, this will change my life, my kids' lives and their kids' lives. I'm in the city that I grew up in, and my dad grew up in. It's unreal. It's meant to be."
Grieco will return next summer to install the steel sculpture and is planning a big party around its unveiling.
