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Ruocco Park Meeting to Feature Park Public Artist

Thursday, 15 April 2010
Contact: Marguerite Elicone (619) 686-6222

The public will have the opportunity to meet the artist selected to incorporate public art into the design of the Port of San Diego's proposed Ruocco Park. A public meeting to introduce the artist and provide an update on Ruocco Park will be held at 6 p.m. on Monday, April 19, 2010 in the Board Room of the Port's Administration Building, 3165 Pacific Highway, San Diego.

Roman de Salvo was selected by a community-based selection panel from a pool of qualified artists and awarded the public art contract for Ruocco Park. At the meeting, he will give a brief introduction to some of his past work.

De Salvo, who lives and works in San Diego, has designed and installed several public art projects. In 2006, he completed the 125-foot-long "Nexus Eucalyptus" at the Caltrans District 11 building in Old Town. The artwork is constructed from eucalyptus trees installed in a manner that resembles a roadway. He has also created public art projects for the San Diego Trolley's Green Line Station, Alvarado Medical Center and the New Children's Museum in San Diego.

He has exhibited his work at the Seattle Art Museum, Quint Contemporary Art in La Jolla, the Museum of Contemporary Art in San Diego, the California Biennial at the Orange County Museum of Art, the Public Art Fund in New York, the Nevada Museum of Art, the Whitney Biennial in New York City and the Musee d'Art Americain in Giverny, France.

De Salvo received a Bachelor of Arts degree from the California College of Arts and Crafts in Oakland, California and a Master of Fine Arts from the University of California, San Diego.

In addition to de Salvo's presentation, the meeting will include a presentation by the park's landscape architect, Dennis Otsuji of ONA, Inc. Otsuji's presentation will be followed by a question and answer session.

Ruocco Park is a 3.3 acre park planned for the southwest corner of West Harbor Drive and Pacific Highway on the former Harbor Seafood Mart site, north of Seaport Village. The park's design was approved by the Board of Port Commissioners in December 2009 and includes space for activities, events and gatherings, as well as seating, tables and quiet areas.

The park will be jointly funded by the Port and $3.5 million in grant funding received from the Lloyd and Ilse Ruocco fund. Lloyd was a noted San Diego architect and considered the father of the modern architectural movement in San Diego. His wife was a professor of art at San Diego State University and a distinguished interior designer. Together, they established a trust fund to provide money for building and maintaining a park in the central area of San Diego.

The Port is planning a fifth public meeting for the park's refined design in Summer 2010. Construction is anticipated to begin in early 2011.