After 50 years in downtown St. Louis, a high-profile piece of public art is returning home. “Synergism” will move from the U.S. Bank Plaza downtown to Chesterfield, and the 20-mile trip is no simple endeavor. Fabricators, engineers, concrete contractors, and crane operators are coming together to repair and relocate the cube-shaped sculpture for a successful homecoming.
The sculpture was originally fabricated in 1976 by Wayne Swisher at Scopia Studios, just a short distance from where it will be reinstalled near the Chesterfield Amphitheater. Artists William Conrad Severson and Saunders Schultz envisioned the sculpture on commission from Mercantile Bank, which has since been acquired by U.S. Bank.
The fabricator’s daughter, Terri Swisher, recalls her father’s pride in the piece. “He had welded the whole thing and polished it, so he was really proud that it didn’t have any seams that showed in the welding. He just made it so perfect, and of course, it was a big, big hit,” she says…