Metalmorphosis (the giant metal head) is spinning again!

One of Charlotte’s most impressive and strangest treasures is Metalmorphosis, a huge sculpture of a head by Czech artist David Černý. When we say huge, we mean it. It’s made of 13 tons of steel and stands 22 feet tall.

The unlikely spot for one of Charlotte’s most mesmerizing pieces of art is an office park in Southwest Charlotte. You’ll find it at Whitehall Corporate Center, 3701 Arco Corporate Drive, Charlotte, North Carolina. It’s free to visit and there’s lots of free parking.

Metalmorphosis sits in a reflecting pool in the office park, where it was installed in 2007.

What makes Metalmorphosis so incredible is that it spins. The 40 steel pieces are grouped into 7 segments, ideally independently rotating 360 degrees. When they’re all aligned the head is formed.

Only, for a long time it didn’t spin. But in September, 2025, it started spinning again! It doesn’t seem like all the segments rotate independently, but they do rotate! It’s obviously got a lot of moving parts and might be a little difficult to keep operational, so make sure to go visit when you can. By the way, it used to spit water from its mouth, but not anymore.

There’s only one other sculpture like this in the world. The same artist created Head of Franz Kafka several years later. You can find it when you visit Prague. It’s even bigger than Metalmorphosis.

If you want to visit you might want to verifying that the sculpture is currently spinning, as maintenance is sometimes required. You can find a live view here.

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