King and Queen Sorel Etrog

Sorel Etrog
King and Queen, 1998
Painted steel, 290 x 310 x 225 centimetres

In many ways, the addition of Sorel Etrog's King and Queen to the sculpture park marks a true moment of "coronation" for the city's internationally recognized waterfront collection. The work of this Romanian born artist speaks very specifically to our city, reflecting passions and ideas that are very close to home for many of us.

Etrog's sculpture probes the relationship between man and machinery and attempts to illustrate an expressive intersection between the individual and industrialism. The machinery of the manufacturer becomes the tools of the artist. Steel plating, sheet metal, bolts, rivets and hinges are prominently featured in this work of industrial art, illustrating contact, tension and articulation.

In our city, this theme expands, stressing perhaps that all work is at some level artistic. King and Queen was constructed in Windsor at DeMonte Fabrication Inc. Though the team at DeMonte are usually occupied with projects for the construction and automotive industries, Etrog himself observed that their skill with his piece was "as good as anywhere I have ever worked in the world."

King and Queen can be seen as the crowning piece for the sculpture park, simply because it speaks so directly to our city's industrial experience, our faith in craftsmanship and our belief that we are all able to bend, shape and connect the materials of our daily lives into works of lasting expression.