{{Short description|American sculptor}} {{Use American English|date=April 2026}} {{Use mdy dates|date=April 2026}} {{Infobox artist | honorific_prefix = | name = Lou Cella | honorific_suffix = | image = <!-- use the image's pagename; do not include the "File:" or "Image:" prefix, and do not use brackets--> | image_size = | alt = | caption = | native_name = | native_name_lang = | birth_name = <!-- only use if different from name --> | birth_date = <!-- {{Birth date and age|YYYY|MM|DD}} for living artists, {{Birth date|YYYY|MM|DD}} for dead. For living people supply only the year unless the exact date is already WIDELY published, as per WP:DOB. Treat such cases as if only the year is known, so use {{birth year and age|YYYY}} or a similar option. --> | birth_place = | baptised = <!-- will not display if birth_date is entered --> | death_date = <!-- {{Death date and age|YYYY|MM|DD|YYYY|MM|DD}} --> | death_place = | resting_place = | resting_place_coordinates = <!-- {{Coord|LAT|LONG|type:landmark|display=inline}} --> | education = | alma_mater = Illinois State University<br />Fine Art Studio of Rotblatt-Amrany | known_for = Sculpture | notable_works = | style = | movement = | family = | awards = <!-- {{awd|award|year|title|role|name}} (optional) --> | elected = | patrons = | memorials = | influences = <!-- only add entries which are explained and cited in the body of the article (or cited here)--> | influenced = <!-- only add entries which are explained and cited in the body of the article (or cited here)--> | website = <!-- {{URL|Example.com}} --> | module = }} '''Lou Cella''' is an American sculptor based in Chicago. He studied at Illinois State University and the Fine Art Studio of Rotblatt-Amrany before beginning a 30-year career in sculpture, particularly bronze works of sportspeople in Seattle.<ref name="Times-Wilkens"/>
Cella's works include four statues commissioned by the Seattle Mariners and displayed at T-Mobile Park. They depict Dave Niehaus (2011), Ken Griffey Jr. (2017), Edgar Martínez (2021), and Ichiro Suzuki (2026).<ref>{{cite news |last=Jude |first=Adam |date=April 10, 2026 |title=Mariners unveil broken Ichiro statue outside of T-Mobile Park |url=https://www.seattletimes.com/sports/mariners/mariners-unveil-ichiro-statue-outside-of-t-mobile-park/ |work=The Seattle Times |accessdate=April 10, 2026}}</ref> He was also commissioned to create a statue of Don James in 2017 for the Washington Huskies football program. His fifth major work in Seattle, a statue of former Seattle SuperSonics player and coach Lenny Wilkens, was unveiled in 2025 at Climate Pledge Arena, the site of the former Sonics home arena.<ref name="Times-Wilkens">{{cite news |last=Allen |first=Percy |date=June 26, 2025 |title=Meet the man who made Lenny Wilkens' statue and others around Seattle |url=https://www.seattletimes.com/sports/sonics/meet-the-man-who-made-lenny-wilkens-statue-and-others-around-seattle/ |work=The Seattle Times |accessdate=November 9, 2025}}</ref> In 2018, Cella received the United States Sports Academy's Sport Artist of the Year Award for sculpture.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Blake|first=Corey|title=Sculptor Lou Cella Presented Academy’s Sport Artist of the Year Award|url=https://ussa.edu/news/sculptor-lou-cella-presented-academys-sport-artist-of-the-year-award/|access-date=2021-09-07|website=United States Sports Academy|language=en-US}}</ref>
==References== {{Portal|Visual arts}} {{Reflist}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cella, Lou}} Category:Living people Category:21st-century American sculptors Category:American sports sculptors Category:Year of birth missing (living people)
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