Highwood, Ill. —The time after attending the opening of the Dwyane Wade memorial outside the Kaseya Center in Miami, the performer behind the mistakenly controversial part, Omri Amrany, was back in his suburban Chicago skill enclave, focused on his litany of future projects.
In the front hallway of the fine art studio where he and his wife, Julie Rotblatt Amrany have been operating since 2005, he said,” I do n’t check the comments at all—one of the many things that I do n’t do. I keep my mind open for dreams and opportunities and for looking forward,” he said.
We regret we ca n’t invite you inside because we are busy sculpting several exclusive projects, so we apologize.

But on Wednesday evening, Amrany agreed to encourage Sportico into workshop under the situation that none of its in-progress tasks, which include those of other popular sports figures, may be reported on or photographed.
Over the past 48 hours, the Wade monument had been subjected to a kind of title, image and likeness discussion among sports fans: namely, whether the monument’s expression of open-mouthed predominance captured Wade’s essence. The ruling, according to the rising hordes on cultural media—and self-appointed art reviewers like Charles Barkley and Shaquille O’Neal—was that it had failed.
Barkley suggested that the statue be removed and redone on TNT’s Inside the NBA present. Shaq called it the “scariest issue this Halloween,” claiming that he was conscious that he was disparaging the work of a guy who had formerly memorialized him in bronze.
The target of their mockery was intended to depict Wade’s persuasive reaction to the Miami Heat’s game-winning 3-pointer at the alarm in his 2009 home victory over the Chicago Bulls, his hometown team. After the shot, Wade leaped atop a sideline scorers ‘ table in the then-named American Airlines Arena while yelling” this is my house” at a adoring crowd. Wade, who stopped playing basketball in 2019, refers to this as his “favorite unique time of my career.”
For his part, Wade has rallied to the monument’s protection, saying it lived up to his perception.
” The commission ( of art ) is a triangle between the client, the subject, and the artist”, said Amrany, who worked on the project along with Oscar Leon, one of seven artists who work out of the Rotblatt Amrany studios. And the outcome of this square is likely to remain on a pedestal to be criticized by the rest of the world.
Amrany hopes that ultimately everyone will know that the sculpture’s purpose was to express the subject’s true essence and story. The sculptor claims he has no problem with criticizing his job, but believes his new critics have failed to make this difference.
” They’re missing the complete story of a baby who had nothing, who became anything, and that was his appearance when he jumped on the table and told his home team,’ This is my house,'” Amrany said. They are missing out on this great American story because they want a really boring face. And I’m sad, they’re not going to get it from me”.

Nearly 30 years after Amrany and his sister’s most well-known sports monument, the Michael Jordan statue, was unveiled at the United Center, Wade’s sculpture was unveiled. The Spirit, a mid-flight MJ, was known as” The Spirit” and served as the name of the Rotblatt Amrany film’s calling card. He helped establish the sports cast metal style. Amrany said the Bulls paid$ 250, 000 for the payment, but he did not say how much the Steam paid for Wade.
In the three decades since conjuring The Spirit, the Rotblatt Amrany studio has produced bronze statues to commemorate the achievement of Kobe Bryant, Barry Sanders, Dirk Nowitzki, Bob Cousy, David Beckham, Elgin Baylor, Wilt Chamberlain, Bobby Hull, Vince Lombardi and the above Shaq, among many other significant players and coaches. In all, the studio has done over 300 projects around the globe, from individual busts to municipal parks.
But as Amrany recalled, when the Jordan statute was publicly unveiled at a press conference on Nov. 1, 1994, it was not roundly greeted with praise. Instead, the way Jordan’s face was portrayed in the first place received a number of initial complaints, including the decision to keep the Hall of Fame’s famously wagging tongue concealed behind his lips.
” They did n’t like that his face was n’t right off a cereal box”, said Amrany. ” They did n’t want what ( Jordan ) said he wanted. And they did n’t know that, because they were not meeting him, they did not sit with him”.
Mercifully, that experience long predated the era of social media and the current “world of algorithms”, as Amrany puts it. In 2024, the peanut gallery is infinitely more tolerant and critical.
” I mean, after 20 articles ( about Wade’s sculpture ) in the last three days”, Amrany said, “what you become is not famous, but infamous”.
Though undaunted, he said he had taken note of the experience for future reference.
” Maybe even next time I would suggest to the ( subject ) that they be aware of what ( reaction ) you’re going to get”, Amrany said.