London to Los Angeles, Singapore to Seattle — and, until last year, St. Petersburg — visitors the world over search for words grand enough — magical, exquisite, ethereal, alive — to capture the marvel of Janet Echelman’s stunning net sculptures.
The globally acclaimed Tampa-born artist’s aerial artworks amaze and astonish viewers in more than 60 cities on five continents, with giant shimmering “sky hammocks” hovering over public spaces, interacting with the sun and wind at skyscraper scale.
In St. Petersburg, Echelman’s “Bending Arc” captivated thousands of people at the St. Pete Pier from the summer of 2020 until February 2025. Named after Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s quote, “The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice,” the sculpture, hand- and machine-knotted from 180 miles of blue-and-white braided fiber, was suspended by spliced ropes stretched 424 feet wide and floated 72 feet above the ground.
For more than four years, “Bending Arc” weathered Florida’s climate and numerous storms, including Hurricane Ian. But after Hurricane Milton, sections became snagged by flying Adirondack chairs, which had been tied together underneath but broke loose. The St. Petersburg City Council funded its removal for structural analysis.
The good news: Reinstallation is expected within the next six months. A national engineering firm confirmed the city’s installation contractor used substandard materials and improperly installed the structure. But the firm concluded that “Bending Arc” performed precisely as designed, capable of withstanding winds of up to 150 mph.
Said Echelman, “I was so pleased to receive St. Petersburg (City Development Administrator) James Corbett’s email in November (2025) saying, ‘Our goal is to complete the testing, finalize the engineering specifications and reinstall the artwork before the next hurricane season.’”
Impressively, Echelman is already looking skyward to her second engineering feat for the bay area — a new commission for Gasworx developer Darryl Shaw, created for the 50-acre mixed-use neighborhood rising in historic Ybor City.
“I’m working on an exciting new design for a sculpture to suspend over Third Avenue at 14th Street, just blocks from where my grandmother grew up,” Echelman announced. “The Gasworx team is working to install the anchors in their new buildings as we speak.”
In the meantime, do not miss her fascinating solo exhibition, “Janet Echelman: Radical Softness,” on view at the Sarasota Art Museum through April 26. Four decades of Echelman’s fine art and craft show the breadth of her work, including batik-dyed and acrylic artworks, charcoal and chalk drawings, and textile collages.
Gallery-size examples of the complex 3D creations bring the “wows”: Echelman’s art has also been ranked No. 1 on Oprah Winfrey’s “List of 50 Things That Make You Say Wow!” Video screens show the technical choreography of her projects — engineering schematics, time-lapse installations and dancers intertwined in a net 25 feet off the ground. A glass case displays Echelman’s materials and tools — braided twines, spliced rope and knotted netting. Docents explain how netmakers in a fishing village in south India influenced her extraordinary art form.
Then, for a deeper dive, art historian Gloria Sutton’s new book, “Radical Softness: The Responsive Art of Janet Echelman,” is a must-read, with photos and insights from 30 art historians, engineers, architects and colleagues, with a foreword by cultural producer Swizz Beatz, whose art collection with his wife, Alicia Keys, has the world buzzing.
“My art combines ancient craft and cutting-edge technology to create living, breathing sculptures that bring people together and carve out space for reflection in an ever-changing world,” Echelman said.
Sarasota Art Museum, Ringling College Museum Campus, 1001 S. Tamiami Trail, Sarasota. 941-309-4300. Admission: $20. Open Monday-Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and on Sundays from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. sarasotaartmuseum.org.