Ken Kelleher (aka Anchorball) to Install Two Monumental Sculptures in Abu Dhabi's Saadiyat Cultural District

ABU DHABI, UAE — Internationally recognized sculptor Ken Kelleher, also known as Anchorball, will install two monumental artworks in Abu Dhabi's Saadiyat Cultural District in early and mid-fall 2026.

The works—Boundless Sea of Stars (The Wave) and a new one-of-one Hand Drawn Sculpture—were selected in 2025, with engineering and fabrication beginning in April 2026. Together, the sculptures represent two distinct but connected areas of Kelleher's practice and mark a significant expansion of his presence in the Middle East.

Located on Saadiyat Island, the Saadiyat Cultural District is internationally recognized for its concentration of cultural institutions, landmark architecture and ambitious public spaces. The arrival of Kelleher's sculptures places the artist's work within one of the most visible and rapidly developing cultural landscapes in the world.

Boundless Sea of Stars (The Wave) is the second of only three editions and will stand five metres tall. Fabricated in mirror-finished stainless steel, the sculpture transforms the energy of a rising wave into a sweeping abstract form that appears to remain in motion despite its monumental scale.

The work's mirrored surface will continually respond to the conditions surrounding it. Sky, architecture, landscape, sunlight and visitors will move across the stainless steel, making the environment an active component of the sculpture. Its appearance will shift throughout the day and across the seasons, ensuring that the work is never experienced in precisely the same way twice.

Rather than depicting the ocean literally, Kelleher has distilled its physical and emotional force into a singular sculptural gesture. The work expresses movement, suspension and transformation while maintaining the permanence and structural authority required of a major outdoor installation.

The second work, Hand Drawn Sculpture, is a unique, one-of-one addition to Kelleher's ongoing Hand Drawn Series. Beginning with the directness of a spontaneous line, the sculpture expands the intimate act of drawing into monumental three-dimensional space.

The work preserves the speed, rhythm and imperfection of the original gesture while translating it into an engineered architectural form. What begins as a line made by hand becomes a structure that can be approached from multiple directions and experienced in relation to the body, the landscape and the surrounding architecture.

The pairing reveals the breadth of Kelleher's sculptural language. Boundless Sea of Stars emerges from the artist's Elemental practice, in which natural forces and states of movement are transformed into highly resolved abstract forms. Hand Drawn Sculpture begins with human instinct, translating the freedom of drawing into permanent physical space.

Together, the works connect nature and gesture, reflection and colour, fluidity and structure. Both are designed to function at architectural scale while maintaining an immediate visual identity that can be understood from a distance and discovered more intimately at close range.

The Saadiyat project also represents an important moment for collectors, cultural investors and institutions following Kelleher's international development. One work comes from a highly limited edition of three; the other is entirely unique. Both combine rarity with monumental scale, sophisticated fabrication and significant international placement.

As Kelleher's work continues to enter important private collections, public environments and cultural destinations across the Middle East, Asia, Europe and North America, the Saadiyat installations signal the growing institutional and international relevance of his practice.

For collectors and institutions seeking works capable of defining a landscape, architectural development or cultural identity, this period represents a significant opportunity to engage with the artist's work. Kelleher's sculptures increasingly occupy the space between collectible contemporary art, monumental public sculpture and international placemaking—creating works that are visually direct, structurally ambitious and capable of becoming lasting landmarks.

Fabrication of both sculptures is underway, with the works scheduled to arrive separately in Abu Dhabi during early and mid-fall 2026. Their installation will add two major international projects to Kelleher's expanding portfolio and establish a new foundation for his continued engagement with collectors, patrons and cultural institutions throughout the region.