Sculptor Mark Aeling creating a bronze statue for 400 Central

St. Petersburg sculptor Mark Aeling is producing a work decidedly unlike the massive steel public art pieces, many of them conceptual, for which he’s become well-known.

It’s a larger-than-life-sized bronze statue of the late Albert and Jane Vondersaar, longtime local residents. The work was commissioned by New York developer John Catsimatidis Sr., whose Red Apple Group is building the 46-story Residences at 400 Central downtown. The sculpture will be installed at the building’s entrance.

“Lee” and “Tatiana” Vondersaar’s daughter is the developer’s wife, Margo Catsimatidis.

“Like so many who find their way to St. Petersburg, my mom and dad fell in love with the city, its people, arts and culture, waterfront, and nearby beaches,” Margo Catsimatidis said in a prepared statement.

“They would be so proud to have the Residences at 400 Central dedicated to them and to be memorialized in this way, standing proudly out front, welcoming residents and visitors to this historic block and world-class building.”

John Catsimatidis said his in-laws’ enthusiasm for St. Pete was “contagious, and why I decided to invest here.”

Mark Aeling. Photo by Bill DeYoung.

For Aeling, who began preliminary work on the sculpture six months ago, the commission offered an opportunity to return to his roots in figurative art.

He has an MFA in sculpture, and began his career, in his native St. Louis, as a woodcarver.

“I’m traditionally or classically trained in that sense, toward anatomy and composition,” the artist said. “When people think of sculpture, they generally think of figurative sculpture in bronze or marble. That kind of work. And I spent many decades doing that kind of work.

“The larger-scale public art stuff is a niche that my skill set, my facility and opportunity have led to.”

Aeling’s MFA Sculpture Studio is in the Warehouse Arts District; he is president of the nonprofit Warehouse Arts District Association.

Albert and Jane Vondersaar. Photo: Red Apple Group.

John and Margo Catsimatidis provided Aeling with a photograph of the Vondersaars. “They’re probably in their early ‘60s and they look very much in love,” Aeling said. “They’re on the beach and hugging each other and smiling for the camera. It’s a very heartwarming photograph.

“But they’re in work clothes on the beach, and the sculpture’s going in the heart of the downtown area. They wanted it to be more like ‘a night on the town’ feel to it.”

So Aeling’s task was to “dress up” his subjects. To accomplish this, the sculptor and his wife, artist Carrie Jadus, dressed in “night on the town” clothes, assumed the pose the couple had in the original image, and stood on a rotating base in Aeling’s studio. A camera captured images of the couple as they turned 360 degrees.

Working from the photographs, Aeling can match the specific contours and dimensions of the clothing, and apply them to his sculpture.

He roughs out the figures in pliable urethane, then applies a layer of modeling clay, which is where the surface details, including the faces, will be added.

When everyone’s happy with the final product, he’ll create a mold and ultimately cast the sculpture in bronze.

“This was the kind of work that got me into making sculpture to begin with,” Aeling said.

According to Red Apple Group, the statue will be unveiled later this year.