The artist’s second permanent public commission – and his largest work to date – provides a unique point of entry to Bombardier’s service center at Miami-Opa Locka Executive Airport.

Miami, FL — Troy Simmons is pleased to announce JANUSPORTAL, a major new sculptural installation in partnership with jet manufacturer Bombardier and Miami-Dade County Art in Public Places. A permanent addition to Bombardier’s new service center at the Miami-Opa Locka Executive Airport, Simmons’ massive 22 foot concrete aluminum and steel sculpture was inspired by his 2018 sculpture VORTEX. The works share similarities through the mediums used, the distinct aluminum extrusions defining the interiors of each piece and exhibit the artist’s perennial interests in brutalist form and organic  design.

JANUS PORTAL greatly expands the scale of VORTEX and takes additional inspiration from the architecture of Bombardier’s service center, designed by the architecture firm Jacobs. 

Born in Texas and currently based in Miami, Simmons’ sculptural work invoke his lifelong curiosities around identity and habitat, tempered by his studies in architecture and environmental science. Raised between the urban landscape of Houston and his grandfather’s hand-built farmhouse in rural East Texas, Simmons grew up fascinated by natural forms of habitation and the vernacular structure of simple dwellings. His studies of organic growth and animal nest-making allowed him to recognize functional design as a survival instinct across species and eventually led to an investigation of identity as the difference between exterior and interior placemaking.

For Bombardier, Simmons designed a freestanding, cantilevered structure that fits the architectural motifs of the building itself. Inspired by Simmons’ 2018 sculpture Vortex, the interior entry way to Bombardier’s state-of-the-art service center is reminiscent of a plane taking off, while wing like imposts pay homage to the company’s iconic aviation designs. The concrete exterior, hand-fabricated by Simmons, is reminiscent of the abraded urban surfaces which the artist locates as the foundation of modern development, struggle and growth. Beneath this brutalist facade, an undulating network of aluminum extrusions catches and guides the eye through the main entrance – a corpus of pathways, appearing simultaneously synthetic and biological. The resulting installation inverts the building’s structure and dimensions to create something new: an entry way that captures the excitement of destinations to come. Simmons immediately identified with this commission opportunity when it was presented by Miami-Dade’s Art in Public Places, attributing both the size and ingenuity of his work to the artist’s