Local Artist Going Big!!

Chris Williams to Unveil “Nerve Center” in Kendall Square Essex

Artist Works with BioMed Realty to Beautify Park

Renowned New England sculptor Chris Williams and BioMed Realty are working together to bring a renewed sense of community culture and public art to the technology and innovation epicenter of Cambridge. On Tuesday, Nov. 10, they will unveil “Nerve Center,” a striking 25-foot-tall bronze and glass sculpture in Kendall Square’s newly renovated South Plaza Park.

The neuron sculpture is inspired by the creative thinking running through Kendall square, comprised of a twisted metal frame with pieces of slumped glass, weighing in at 5,000 pounds and illuminated from the inside. A tribute to the biotech area, “Nerve Center,” a permanent installation, will serve as an anchor in the newly designed public park along the Charles River.

The unveiling of the sculpture will take place Tuesday, Nov. 10 from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. in Kendall Square’s South Plaza Park, located at 450 Kendall Street in Cambridge.

A third generation metal worker, Williams, 47, grew up in Rockport where he learned the trade of metal fabrication from his father. For years, he worked with steel and stainless metals before transitioning his passion for art into metal forming more raw materials, such as bronze, to create large life-Art installations of animals. The self-taught artist creates his pieces by hand in his Essex-based studio where he resides with his wife, Finella, and two boys, Thomas, 8, and Jackson, 10.

Williams’ upcoming projects include the installation of a horse sculpture for Simon Properties in Central Valley, NY; a customized ram being made for Framingham State University; a 10-foot high, 15-feet long glass and metal abstract lobby screen to improve the flow of BioMed’s office at 50 Hampshire St. in Cambridge; and large bronze bird installations for the towns of Marblehead and Ipswich. His work is featured in malls, airports, including Logan International Airport, universities, and prominent businesses across the country.

 “I am very passionate about putting life into my work and creating installations that are both recognizable and yet provoke further thought,” says Williams. “Bronze is soft enough to mold by hand with the right tools, most of which I make myself. I have a basic connection to animals – they are uninhibited – and I like to capture the essence and movement of an animal so that people can say, ‘Hey, that’s a bird or a fish,’ and then take a closer look to realize the sculpture is all handmade pieces.”