Words by Sterling Davies
How do you add playfulness to parking? Artist Gordon Huether has an idea. Standing 13 feet tall just outside Redwood City’s County Garage off Middlefield Road is one of his jumbo-sized art installations entitled Hubcaps. Completed in 2021, the structure consists of 1,000 shiny silver hubcaps arranged around a spherical wire frame and serves as a gateway piece for San Mateo County’s new community office complex, which is currently in the process of construction. Gordon Huether, a New York-turned-Napa artist, has pieces that can be found all around the Peninsula and the world. Ranging from sculptures for animal shelters to privately commissioned artworks, he takes inspiration from nature’s effects on man-made materials as he tells a story that’s unique to the project at hand. Gordon’s work mainly revolves around glasswork, but he has extensive experience creating with steel, resins and salvaged materials. With Hubcaps, he wanted to introduce a whimsical element to an everyday occurrence: parking. Taking inspiration from older cars, Gordon restored countless vintage hubcaps and arranged them in an unexpected way to create a sense of play and breathe new life into recycled materials. So when lousy parking jobs and excessive brake lights steer you into a bad mood, let Hubcaps return the smile to your face.