Encanto artist Roman de Salvo has been selected to provide a public work of art as part of the Unified Port of San Diego’s upcoming Ruocco Park, scheduled for construction in 2011 along the waterfront between Harbor Drive and Pacific Highway. Still in the early stages of his design for the piece, de Salvo said he’s spent the last month researching this “dream project.” “It is exactly the kind of thing for an artist of my sensibility, and to get this one is really what my purpose is as an artist,” de Salvo said. “I see it as an opportunity to bring my imagination and innovative sensibility and inspiration, and infuse that into this park … Hopefully it will be a delight for the citizenry.” Though de Salvo’s has been featured in San Diego, throughout California and around the country, he introduced himself to the public as the project artist in April. He will be meeting periodically with a team of landscape designers and public administrators starting mid-summer so as not to “drop a bombshell,” he said. De Salvo’s work has been displayed at various locations, including the Quint Contemporary Art in La Jolla, the Museum of Contemporary Art in San Diego, the California Biennial at the Orange County Museum of Art, and galleries in New York, Nevada and France. With a bachelor’s degree from the California College of Arts and Crafts and a Masters of Fine Arts from the University of California, San Diego, de Salvo brings a unique, thought-provoking perspective to his work using everyday materials like wood and electrical conduit that also have an “engaging” element to them. One wall-mounted piece featured in La Jolla has a maze-like quality created from electrical casing and wire boxes. “I have an interest the use of elements, like energetic phenomena, wind, fire, electricity, [things that are] mercurial and phenomenal in some way. I like exploiting their properties. There’s some good resources for that at Ruoocco [Park] and we’ll see what I can do,” he said.  The Unified Port of San Diego commissioners approved the 3.3-acre park in December. It is to be built just north of Seaport Village.  Funding for the park came, in part, from a $3.5 million grant from the Lloyd and Ilse Ruocco fund, according to port officials. Lloyd Ruocco was a famous San Diego architect. Ilse was also a known interior designer and professor at San Diego State University. The Ruocco’s established a trust fund about 25 years ago for the purpose of establishing more public park space in the city, according to port officials.