John Sauvé, born in 1963 in Detroit, is an American artist and arts educator. His medium is sculpture and printmaking and has achieved national and international recognition. He was awarded a grant from the Marc Ecco Foundation for his work Man in the City, the first public sculpture exhibit installed on the Highline in New York City. John Sauvé studied art history at Michigan State University. After finishing his studies, he spent a year traveling through Europe continuing his education in art history. He then returned to Detroit to work for the Michigan Commission on Art in Public Places where he oversaw the installation of public art for the Percent for the Art Program. He concluded his studies with a degree in Arts Administration at Michigan State University.

John Sauvé references philosophy, literature and history by approaching the human figure with an idealized representation. Borrowing from Heidegger’s concept of “Dasein”, Jung’s interest in the shadow and the Faustian Legend, Sauvé’s sculpture is as much about the figure as the shadow it cast. This relationship highlights his interest in the question of being and the covenant the individual will make to exist. Sauvé challenges the viewer by presenting the figure in public spaces utilizing the environment as a way to question what it means to existence and relationship between the individual and the collective.

John Sauvé is currently installing the Man in the City project in the City of Detroit and the City of Windsor. The Man in the City is an international sculpture project comprised of 40 sculptures located on the rooftops of prominent buildings throughout the City of Detroit and Windsor. The Man in the City project creates a metaphor for life that transforms the skyline and encourages people to look around. In the discovery process one becomes aware of their sense of place within the City.

John Sauvé’s work has been exhibited in such high-­?profile venues as the Venice
Biennale, Governor’s Island, the International Sculpture Exhibition in Chicago, Krasl Sculpture Biennale, The Highline, Art Chicago, Elon University Sculpture, Knoxville Sculpture, Birmingham Cityscapes, Delta College, The Ella Sharpe Museum, The Krasl Museum, Cliff Dwellers Chicago, EXPO Chicago, The Brighton Biennial and Millikan Park. John Sauvé’s sculptures have been or are currently displayed in numerous public spaces in the US, as well as in England, Canada, Germany, Japan and Italy.