Truck‑nuts jokes aside, the $900,000 bonded‑for artwork is set to anchor Courthouse Plaza for Lexington’s 250th.
LEXINGTON, Ky. — The city’s next “largest‑ever” piece of public art isn’t fully installed yet, but the punchlines have arrived early. On Reddit, locals have called it everything from “truck nuts for downtown” to “a giant tetherball set,” with a few votes for “rosary beads.” One budget hawk even volunteered to do the job “for half,” which is not how sculpture works but exactly how the internet works.
Here’s the substance beneath the snark.
🎯Five fast facts
- Artist: Benjamin Ball (Ball‑Nogues Studio)
- Site: Robert F. Stephens Courthouse Plaza, Main St.
- Purpose: Signature piece for Lexington’s 250th anniversary
- Budget: $900,000 total — $850,000 artwork contract + $50,000 future conservation; funded by public debt from 2023 bond projects
- Status: Construction underway; target debut fall 2025
🪩What’s coming
The project is a mirror‑polished arrangement of suspended steel spheres designed by Los Angeles artist Benjamin Ball of Ball‑Nogues Studio. It’s planned for the Robert F. Stephens Courthouse Plaza on Main Street as a signature installation for Lexington’s 250th anniversary. The target is a fall 2025 debut, with construction already underway around the site…