Even before building renovations begin, change is beginning to manifest at the Wende Museum’s new space in Culver City’s Veteran’s Park Armory. Peeking in the glass front doors, one can already see the first object to be stored in the large, open interior of the building – a sculpture of a miner by Hungarian artist Szabó Jelzéssel.

Here’s how the Wende Museum describes the piece:

This sculpture celebrates coal mining, one of Hungary’s main industries. Naturalistically sculpted from one tree trunk nearly 7.5 feet tall, the figure conveys an extraordinary presence. The coal miner has broad shoulders and a grounded stance. He stands relaxed, supported by his drill, looking straight out into the distance, associating it with an ideal image of masculinity.

This impressive figure recalls many other heroes of labor represented throughout the Museum’s holdings and in different media from paintings, prints, porcelain figurines, to large sculptures. Powerful images of a miner seem to represent the best of Cold War Eastern Europe – its productive, diligent, and determined progress.

Still to come before the Wende Museum makes its move: renovation design stage, a capital campaign, and the Armory’s renovation itself.