On a recent afternoon inside a westside industrial arts studio, sparks flew as sculptor Juan Martinez worked on sections of a giant monarch butterfly. Resting on fabrication tables, the steel structure was still taking shape, piece by piece, as it moved closer to becoming a public bench for Southwest Detroit.
The 11-foot-tall, 12-foot-wide butterfly bench, commissioned for Southwest Detroit’s Congress of Communities, is more than public art. For Martinez, a Detroit sculptor and welder, it is a celebration of migration and belonging.
Inspired by monarch butterflies that travel thousands of miles between Mexico and North America each year, the bench reflects journeys familiar to many immigrant families.
“In this time when migrants are so targeted, I thought it was important to celebrate them,” Martinez said.
The project represents the latest chapter in a career that has blended art, engineering and community engagement for more than three decades.
A Colombian Artist’s Journey
Born in Bogotá, Colombia, Martinez immigrated to the United States with his family at age four and grew up in New Orleans. Art became part of his identity early in life. “My father and I used to draw together all the time,” Martinez recalled. “I was kind of known as the kid who was an artist.”
A major influence arrived when Martinez was 14 and met Colombian-born metal artist Luis Colmenares in New Orleans. He apprenticed under Colmenares throughout high school, learning welding, metal fabrication and sculpture techniques that became the foundation of his career.
Colmenares, known in the New Orleans arts community for large-scale metal works, was Martinez’s first mentor and one of his most important influences.
Martinez later trained in Santa Clara del Cobre, Mexico, a town renowned for its copper-working traditions. Rather than pursuing a traditional university art education, he developed his skills through apprenticeships and hands-on work with blacksmiths, sculptors and fabricators across the country.
Those experiences helped shape the blend of artistry and engineering that defines his work today.
Finding a Home in Detroit
Martinez first arrived in Detroit in 2010 through Detroit Summer, the youth organization founded by legendary activist Grace Lee Boggs. Working alongside young people, he helped create “These Walls Can Talk”, a community arts project that documented grassroots organizations throughout Detroit through interviews, photography and large-scale public artwork.
The experience transformed his perception of the city. “We got to speak with lots of different organizations,” Martinez said. “I was very impressed with how much people were doing in Detroit.”
The project introduced him to a network of artists, activists and community organizations working to strengthen neighborhoods from the ground up. Martinez soon decided to make Detroit his permanent home.
“I love being in Detroit,” he said. “I own a house here. I want to stay in Detroit.”
Art You Can Ride, Touch and Experience
Martinez is perhaps best known for a series of bicycle-powered sculptures known as “Mechanical Animals,” creations that combine metalworking, engineering and public interaction.
The project began in 2016 when author Dave Eggers commissioned Martinez to build a set of animal-shaped pedicabs for 826 Michigan, a nonprofit organization.
The resulting sculptures included a life-size bison, a giant pangolin (an armored mammal) and later a rhinoceros. Unlike traditional sculptures displayed behind barriers, the Mechanical Animals were designed to be ridden.
The sculptures became favorites at community events throughout Detroit. Martinez believes much of their appeal comes from their interactivity. “Instead of not being able to touch the art, put your body in the art and ride it down the street,” he said.
That philosophy extends throughout his work. Whether designing a bicycle-powered sculpture or a public bench, Martinez wants people to engage directly with what he creates.
Detroit audiences have embraced that approach. “One of the things that I love about Detroit is that people are very unafraid to show joy here,” Martinez said. “If they’re excited about something, they’re going to let you know.”
Building Monuments to Migration
While the Mechanical Animals helped establish Martinez’s public profile, his current focus is permanent public art.
The butterfly bench for Congress of Communities was a deliberate choice; it represents the first in what he hopes will become a larger series of migration-themed installations throughout Detroit.
The sculpture will be installed outside the nonprofit’s office near the corner of Junction and St. Hedwig. “It’s a permanent monument that’s celebrating our migrant communities. A lot of times animals can have symbolic meanings that reflect what’s going on with humans,” he said.
Plans for the installation include a QR code that will allow visitors to hear anonymous migration stories. “I think it’s so beautiful to incorporate people’s actual stories of migration as part of this.”
Looking Ahead
His ambitions extend well beyond a single butterfly bench. He is pursuing funding for additional sculptures inspired by birds that travel between Latin America and Michigan. One concept would place visitors inside the nest of a giant migratory bird, with its wings forming a protective shelter overhead.
He also hopes to expand his Mechanical Animals series with a giant Guacamaya or scarlet macaw, whose wings would flap as it moves through city streets carrying passengers.
For Martinez, animals have long served as both artistic subjects and symbols. Since childhood, he has been fascinated by their forms, behaviors and ability to communicate deeper human stories.
Through butterflies, birds and larger-than-life creatures made of steel, Martinez hopes to create public spaces that celebrate migration, inspire wonder and invite participation.
In a city shaped by generations of newcomers, his sculptures serve as reminders that movement, adaptation and community are not only natural forces but also part of Detroit’s story.
Andrés Ospina is a Detroit-based freelance journalist and business consultant covering business, entrepreneurship and economic development. Originally from Colombia, he holds a double major in Communications and Journalism and an MBA from the University of Exeter (UK). His work connects the dots between his experience supporting small businesses, startups and organizations and his background in journalism, bringing a practitioner’s perspective to the stories he tells.
