It’s been 12 years since the last refrigerator was made in Galesburg, but a new sculpture set to reside at the Galesburg Historical Society Museum is taking that history and turning it into art.
More than a decade after the Maytag plant closed, a Galesburg artist has created a piece that “reflects on written history of the past while suggesting the histories yet to be written.”
That’s how the Historical Society describes Atlantean, the sculpture to be welcomed on May 27th. Gabriel Moreno created the refrigerator-sized sculpture made of refuse materials, barn lumber and a refrigerator skeleton.
Atlantean sits next to the last three refrigerators produced on the Maytag line. Moreno says since the loss of manufacturing in the community, there has been discussion surrounding Galesburg’s identity.
He tells WGIL the refrigerators mark a moment in time and he hopes his piece will do the same.
“This use of old materials and using them in a way to support other things is kind of my way of marking this in between moment,” Moreno says, “where we’re trying to find a connection to be what we’ve been and where we’re going and what we will be.”
The welcoming ceremony is scheduled for 4 p.m. on the third floor of the Galesburg Antique Mall.
