Arts & Culture

Veteran Fort Wayne Sculptor Reflects On Public Art Scene

89.1 WBOI | By Julia Meek

Published May 19, 2017 at 5:14 PM EDT

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Chief Little Turtle still stands watch at the Historic Old Fort in downtown Fort Wayne

Courtesy/Smithsonian Institute

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One of Garcia's freeform, abstract works.

Courtesy/Smithsonian Institute

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Garcia's "Indiana Landscapes," a glazed ceramic work, dedicated in 1984

Courtesy/Smithsonian Institute

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Garcia at work on "Chief Little Turtle"

Courtesy/Allen County Public Library

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"The Jesuit Priest," sculpted by Hector Garcia in 1976, points to the confluence of the three rivers in downtown Fort Wayne

Courtesy/Smithsonian Institute

Garcia, applying the finishing touches to his head of William Shakespeare, March, 1968.

Fort Wayne sculptor, Hector Garcia, has established a reputation for his craft over the past 40 years, on regional, national and international levels.

Two of his outdoor works, "The Jesuit," and "Chief Little Turtle," were added to our own public art scene in 1976.

WBOI's Julia Meek invite Garcia into the studio, to discuss his motivation for those pieces, his distinctive style, and his thoughts on the importance of communal sculpture.

Watch the unveiling of one of Garcia's more recent pieces, "The Good Shepherd," at the Fort Wayne Rescue Mission in this short video by Victor Zapari: