Those traveling through West Little Rock on Highway 10 are noticing an eye-catching art exhibit in an unlikely place. The Bank OZK Headquarters in West Little Rock is welcoming customers and the community with stunning sculptures in front of its doors.
Several eccentric and ornate, three-story cast bronze angels can be seen rising from pools of water in the entry court. The statues are called Pro Terra Et Natura– from Latin, meaning “For Earth and nature”- and they come courtesy of Chinese artist Wu Ching Ju, whose similar sculptures have been nominated an official landmark of Shanghai.
According to Ju’s official website, “The expressive bronze figures representing the gentle spirits of Mother Earth and of Nature capture the serenity, hope and harmony that draw on the artist’s lifetime love of nature, expressing purity, innocence and vulnerability.”
Wu Ching Ju has created public installations previously in Asia and Europe.
“Contemporary Chinese sculptor Wu Ching Ju merges Eastern and Western culture to create powerful yet intrinsically delicate works. Many think that Wu Ching Ju combines the rigidness and coldness of bronze with the gentleness and beauty of human nature in a perfect way. The sculptures of Wu Ching Ju are another valuable exploration of the idea: to make the past serve the present and let Western aesthetics serve the East.”
Representatives say that public art is a key amenity at the Bank OZK Little Rock campus, located at 18000 Cantrell Rd.
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