Public Art - Immigrant Gate II

Raleigh Arts Commission

PUBLIC ART PERMANENT WORKS: IMMIGRANT GATE II

Immigrant Gate II, a sculpture created by North Carolina artist Jim Gallucci, was unveiled at its new permanent home near the community center in Raleigh's Millbrook Exchange Park in September 2010.

Mr. Gallucci created Immigrant Gate II in 1997. Comprised of welded powder-coated steel, the sculpture is 10 feet long, 4 feet wide, and over 12 feet high. "This gate was designed in remembrance of my family coming to America as Italian immigrants in the 1930s," said Mr. Gallucci, who is known for his series of gates. "It is symbolic of arriving and being welcomed into a rich new world full of opportunity."

Other works by Gallucci in Raleigh include the Light Towers on City Plaza in downtown Raleigh, the interactive Whisper Bench at the North Carolina Museum of Art Park, and Time Passage, which Mr. Gallucci recently installed at the entrance to the Hospice of Wake County.

First shown at the Pier Walk in Chicago in 1997, Immigrant Gate II came to Raleigh as part of the 2004 Downtown Raleigh Sculpture Expo. The City of Raleigh Arts Commission purchased the art piece for the City's permanent art collection, and it was subsequently installed near the Progress Energy Center for the Performing Arts. The opening of the Raleigh Convention Center in 2008 necessitated the relocation of the sculpture. After researching various possible sites, the Arts Commission recommended Millbrook Exchange Park as the new home for the sculpture. The City's Parks, Recreation and Greenway Advisory Board and the City Council subsequently approved the recommendation. In September 2010, Mayor Charles Meeker and Mr. Gallucci delivered remarks, and the ribbon-cutting event included a naturalization oath ceremony administered by the US Citizenship and Immigration Services; the Sanderson High School Air Force ROTC Color Guard; the Millbrook High School Madrigals, who sang the national anthem; and additional music by International Focus.

Artist Statement - Jim Gallucci

This gate is, in part, an homage to the thousands of Americans who immigrated to the new world. The gate symbolizes these immigrants' passage into America. One of them was my father, Anthony L. Gallucci, who, in 1930, came from the small town of Faeto, Italy.

It was not until 1970 that I discovered he was trained as a blacksmith in the old country, but he never had a chance to use it here. He always encouraged my pursuit of the arts. This gate is the symbol of the "new world" of the arts opened to me by that immigrant, my father, who never got to use his trade.

The design embodies the American ideal with the stars and waving stripes and the symbolism is instantly recognizable to anyone in the world. This gate is symbolic of arriving and being welcomed into a rich new world full of opportunity, and encompasses all Americans, as we are all immigrants.

People have asked how this sculpture "immigrated" to Millbrook Exchange Park in Raleigh. I created this sculpture in my studio in Greensboro, North Carolina, in 1997, for the Pier Walk Sculpture Show in Chicago. It is made of welded steel and the gate actually works. Because I made it for display outdoors in Chicago, I chose a color famous in the area because it was used to paint the steel bridges in the region.

In 2004, I brought Immigrant Gate II to Raleigh for an outdoor sculpture exhibition sponsored by the Raleigh Arts Commission, which subsequently bought the piece for the City collection. The sculpture was installed for a while downtown near Memorial Hall. Development of the new City Plaza necessitated finding a new home for the piece and gave me the opportunity to refurbish it on its way to Millbrook Exchange Park.

To contact Jim Gallucci, visit www.jimgalluccisculptor.com.

To learn more, please see links to the right.