In an era when urban development is shifting from incremental expansion to stock optimization, these industrial relics will become an essential breakthrough for urban regeneration. The significance of industrial relics in urban regeneration is increasingly recognized due to their potential land use value and their capacity to create public spaces. At the same time, with the improvement of material living standards, people’s demand for urban spiritual and cultural construction is growing day by day. Public art, as a language of integration, has commenced to play a vital role in the urban development process, demonstrating a unique cultural and economic influence and leading to numerous successful cases of industrial relics regeneration. Through the view of public art, the specific case of the Guangzhou Pearl River Piano Factory is used as an entry point to analyze the intrinsic connection between different elements in the process of industrial relic regeneration. Public art has proven to be a dynamic force in shaping the way urban spaces are reimagined and repurposed. As industrial relics hold substantial potential for land use and public space attributes, they have emerged as a focal point for urban regeneration efforts. The intervention of public art in the process of urban development has not only contributed to the revitalization of industrial relics but has also brought forward a unique cultural and economic influence. The successful transformation of numerous industrial relics through the integration of public art serves as a testament to its pivotal role in urban regeneration initiatives.First of all, this paper reviews the literature related to the renewal of public art and industrial heritage, including its concept definition, historical tracing, practical application, strategies, and methods, to reveal the historical evolution and development trend of its theory and practice. Moreover, the connotation characteristics of public art and the core elements involved in the renewal of industrial heritage are integrated and analyzed. It is pointed out that public art, as a comprehensive means with regional, contemporary, and cultural characteristics, has a catalytic effect on the renewal of industrial relics. The method and significance of industrial relics renewal are proposed from three levels of space, function, and culture, based on which the whole process method of industrial relics renewal design from the perspective of public art is proposed. Secondly, taking the regeneration of the Guangzhou Pearl River Piano Factory as an empirical case study, the whole process of its regeneration is analyzed in three phases in detail, and the role of public art in this process is systematically sorted out. Based on the literature review, field research, and expert opinion consultation, the perception elements of public art and spatial elements of industrial relic regeneration are integrated to establish the evaluation indexes of industrial relic regeneration from the perspective of public art, and the regeneration effect of Guangzhou Pearl River PianoFactory is evaluated by using the IPA analysis method, corresponding optimization suggestions are put forward based on the results of the evaluation.Urban regeneration presents stronger sustainability from the perspective of public art. It plays a positive role in improving spatial quality, optimizing urban image, and attracting social investment. The dynamic nature of public art intervention is conducive to guiding the process of self-organized urban regeneration and perpetuating the precious urban collective memory of industrial culture. Finally, based on the above theories and empirical research, the industrial relic regeneration design model and whole-process approach are proposed from the perspective of public art, which will be a useful reference for the innovative development of urban inventory land regeneration.