How Lowe Mill artist Andrew Luy is honoring Martin Luther King, Jr.
Reading time: 4 minutes
This local artist left behind a 20-plus-year career on Wall Street to pursue art full-time, and was recently chosen out of 1,000+ applicants to create a tribute statue of Martin Luther King, Jr.
Keep reading to see why he chose Huntsville, and how he was selected to create this work.
Meet Andrew
Andrew Luy is a Covid-era transplant from New York City. After a lengthy stent of working as a Wall Street manager, he felt that fully diving into his creative side was necessary in order to alleviate stress from his career.
“I’ve always found that I was a good multitasker in being able to equally tap into both the analytical and creative sides of my brain. When I worked on Wall Street, I noticed that a lot of my stress came from the analytical side of my mind.
I really needed the creative side to balance that all out.”
Andrew Luy
Andrew started taking classes in 2010 at the Art Students League of New York and fell in love with art, becoming the protege of an instructor at the school.
In the chaos of 2020, Andrew connected with friend and fellow artist Ann Steverson, who lives and works in Huntsville. Andrew decided to come down to Huntsville for a short vacation from the then Covid-riddled Manhattan—and, obviously, he liked it here just a little bit.
“During that time, I discovered that I really enjoy this city. I love the vibe of Huntsville in general, and of Lowe Mill.”
Andrew Luy
5 years later, Andrew and Ann still collaborate and share a studio at Lowe Mill A&E.
MLK installation in Winter Park, FL
Andrew was selected out of over 1,000 applicants by the City of Winter Park, Florida to create a statue of Martin Luther King, Jr. for a memorial park.
The name of the installation that Andrew has chosen to create is called “The Ripple.” It is a large-scale statue of Martin Luther King surrounded by seating and walls which are engraved with the names of displaced families from Winter Park.
“I included a 9-foot-tall MLK—I wanted him to be larger than life because his personality was larger than life.”
Andrew Luy
Andrew’s creative process
- Consulting
- To begin his work, Andrew orients himself by meeting with those who have invested in the project at hand and aims to bring their vision to life.
- For this work specifically, Andrew met with both Winter Park residents and the estate of Dr. King.
- Creating
- Andrew then typically creates a small version of the sculpture he is creating, known as a maquette, in order to have a reference for his final product.
- However, for this undertaking, he created a 3D rendering of the model, upscaled it 9 feet, and used it as the base for his statue.
- Casting
- Finally, the statue is cast.
- This statue will be cast in bronze, covering its current clay/resin composition.
What MLK’s work means to Andrew
As the son of an immigrant, Andrew has acknowledged the strength it takes to achieve the “American Dream.”
Upon her immigration, Andrew’s mother gave up a life of security and safety in order to give her children a shot at following their dreams. Through her sacrifice, Andrew and his siblings were able to pursue careers which they were passionate about.
“She realized that in order for her kids to succeed, she wanted to provide a platform where they could really sprout and become a sculptor, or work on Wall Street for 20 years—whatever they wanted.”
Andrew Luy
Andrew’s work will be unveiled in Winter Park later this year.
In the meantime, swing by studio 271 in Lowe Mill and check out he and Ann Steverson’s work.
Learn more about Andrew on his website.
Listen to Andrew Luy share his story
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