Denver is Now Home to Three New Pieces of Public Art
Denver Arts & Venues is pleased to announce the completion of three new pieces in the Denver Public Art collection – “Leaf” at the Denver Botanic Gardens, “Bows” in Cranmer Park and “Community Nature Dance” in Westwood Park.
“Despite our difficult economy, Denver Public Art is not slowing down,” said Denver Public Art manager Michael Chavez. “Our three recently completed projects were started long before we started to see the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, but the city has reiterated its commitment to continuing capital improvements, and many of those new projects will also have public art components.”
Established in 1988, the Denver Public Art ordinance dedicates 1% of all City and County of Denver capital improvement projects to the creation of new public art. With nearly $1B in construction and improvements tied to the Elevate Denver Bond, Denver Public Art expects to continue to commission new works, recently opening calls for qualifications for the Denver Art Museum/Denver Public Library campus project and Congress Park pool and playground project.
“We have approximately 60 public art projects in the works right now, in various stages from early design all the way to fabrication and installation,” continued Chavez. “We are so excited to see ‘Leaf,’ ‘Bows’ and ‘Community Nature Dance’ completed.”
Leaf
In celebration of the art and science collections housed in the Denver Botanic Gardens’ Freyer-Newman Center, this back-lit steel sculpture created by Jason Klimoski and Lesley Chang blends the beauty of nature with the rigor of scientific inquiry. Each of its 251 cells contain a silhouette of a Colorado native plant specimen held by Denver Botanic Gardens’ Kathryn Kalmbach Herbarium. Included is the identification number of that specimen, which allows anyone in the world access to information about the plant, including its scientific name and where it was collected. Each specimen is a snapshot in time, capturing the biodiversity of a particular place and creating a permanent record of the past that serves as a resource to help protect our future.
Bows
Artist Patrick Marold used stone and steel to create arching lines of light and space, complementing and enhancing how the public sees and engages with the landscape. With additional funding from The Park People, this artwork at Cranmer Park was created to enhance the panoramic perspectives of the front range and sky. Located on the eastern edge of the park, trees line public passageway from the neighborhood and frame the artwork for visitors.
Community Nature Dance
In 2018, The Trust for Public Land with support from the Gates Family Foundation collaborated with Denver Arts & Venues and the community to commission unique artwork for Westwood Park that reflects and celebrates the diversity and culture of the Westwood community. The stainless-steel sculpture created by Lisa Cameron Russell features mariachi, flamenco and butterfly elements.
To learn more about these and other works in the Denver Public Art collection, please visit DenverPublicArt.org.