A familiar face is returning to Chesterfield’s Central Park. But not everyone is on board with a reunion.
A sculpture of the Olympic racewalker Yue Ling Chen will make a triumphant return to the park after the Chesterfield City Council approved its purchase on Monday. The life-size, bronze statue recently spent several years along the Central Park Lake Trail as part of the city’s art-on-loan program before being rotated out six years ago. The City Council split 4-4 on the acquisition this week, with Mayor Dan Hurt casting the deciding vote in favor.
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The $30,000 deal with Fine Art Limited actually includes three pieces: the life-size Yue Ling Chen sculpture, a smaller bronze edition of Chen, and Birds in Flight, a stainless steel sculpture already on display in the park. According to the city, the collection’s total value is estimated to be $77,000—and an anonymous donor already pledged $15,000 toward the purchase, leaving the city on the hook for just $15,000 out of Parks Fund reserves.
The debate over bringing the Chen sculpture back to the park has stretched for months, with council members and residents questioning not only the price tag, but whether the city should be in the business of buying art—and what the sculpture represents to some.
The Chesterfield City Council last considered the purchase in June before voting to send it back to committee for further review. During that discussion, council members floated alternative ideas like purchasing less expensive art, finding works from local artists, and continuing with the Creative Community Alliance’s “Sculpture on the Move!” program.
But some residents are less concerned about the price tag, and more concerned about what the Chen sculpture represents.
Chen became the first Chinese track-and-field athlete to win Olympic gold when she took gold in the inaugural women’s Olympic racewalk in 1992. She later attended Brigham Young University, became an American citizen, and competed for the United States at the 2000 Olympics.
“Although Chen later became an American and competed in the Olympics—and did not medal [for the U.S.]—let’s be perfectly clear: the sculpture honors Communist China,” Chesterfield resident Rob Kilo said during Monday’s public comment period. “Chesterfield, home to Veterans Honor Park, is not the city to own any art representing Communist China or any adversary, for that matter. Especially as our nation and Chesterfield celebrates America’s 250th anniversary. How many veteran groups did you ask for their opinion on purchasing a Communist China sculpture to be placed in the same park where we honor veterans and our families? Have fun explaining the stain on Chesterfield during our nation’s 250th anniversary. Unless, of course, your choice is to possibly honor China and rebel against our country’s history.”
During the Chen sculpture’s first stint in Central Park, Fine Art Limited allowed the city to display it free of charge as part of a longstanding relationship that has brought several privately owned works to Chesterfield. In 2019, the city had an opportunity to purchase the Chen sculpture, but according to a city memo, then-Parks director Tom McCarthy recommended against it, favoring participation in the art-on-loan program. But the sculpture’s removal led to an uptick in resident feedback asking for its return.
One such resident, Wendy Geckeler, told the City Council that she was eager to see Chen’s likeness back in the park, calling the sculpture her “walking friend.”
“We’ve been asking the city to please, please bring her back,” Geckeler said. “Just passing her on the trail keeps us going a little further and a little faster. We’ve missed her.”
Robyn Carlstedt, a longtime employee of Fine Art Limited, defended the sculpture—and Chen herself—to the City Council.
“I don’t understand the opposition to this,” Carlstedt said. “This is a quality piece of art.”
The purchase of the sculpture was recommended unanimously by Chesterfield’s Parks, Recreation, and Arts Committee. Jason Baucom, the city’s superintendent of arts and entertainment, says this is the only previously borrowed work for which the department has received an outpouring of support for its return. The sculpture will return to its former location along the Central Park Lake Trail, a preference expressed by the anonymous donor.
Four council members—Mary Ann Mastorakos, Merrell Hansen, Gary Budoor, and Michael Moore—supported the purchase, while A.J. Moll, Patricia Tocco, Barbara McGuinness, and Lane Koch opposed it. Moll said he was not offended by the sculpture and considered the purchase price a good deal, but voted no after learning earlier Monday that the city would need to replace a busted fountain in Central Park.
