A sculpture created by Steven Elliott is now permanently on display in the town of Wayne for everyone to see. 

Outside of the courthouse, the sculpture titled, “Gravitation no. 2,” can be seen in all its beauty. The sculpture was crafted by the Vice President of Academic Affairs for Wayne State College, Steven Elliott, and has been permanently displayed in Wayne. According to Elliott’s artist statement, the sculpture stands seven feet tall, four feet wide, and four feet deep. Elliot made it using 304A stainless steel. “I work primarily with stainless steel because it is an archival material that requires little to no maintenance,” Elliott said, “One of the reasons I started working with stainless steel is not only do I enjoy the color and the material, but also the fact that it’s pretty much permanent.” 

“The role of geometry in this recent body of sculpture represents an abstraction of nature, inspired by patterns that are infinite and ever changing,” Elliot wrote in his artist statement, “The skeletal construction method gradually brings the visual elements together while drawing with the material, inciting the viewer into a potential state of meaning.” Elliot wanted to make a large-scale piece for this sculpture. The idea of being able to work in that scale was intriguing to me as well, and there was a lot of logistics involved in moving those pieces around.” 

The sculpture was toured in five states over several years before coming to Wayne. Elliott has had works displayed in 26 states. “Before coming to Wayne in 2003, I was at the University of Maryland, and so living on the East Coast there was access to a lot of exhibit spaces all throughout the Eastern Seaboard there,” Elliott said, “I found that Wayne, and Nebraska, was a really nice central location to be able to show works.” Elliott also mentioned Minnesota, Iowa, Kansas, and South Dakota as places he has had exhibits displayed. 

“It’s an honor to be a part of the exhibit in Wayne,” Elliott said, “By and large it’s a really rewarding process, all the way from inception and design for a sculpture itself to the construction and building process and all the way to the installation.” Elliott started his career at Wayne State College as a sculpture professor in 2003. He had his first outdoor exhibit displayed in 2005 in Plattsburgh, New York.