Richard Johnston’s sculpture is a stylized bird form in stainless steel. mounted on tall concrete column. The sculpture is installed near the entrance to Tracy Aviary in Liberty Park.
Salt Lake City Public Art Program
Connecting people to place and place to stories since 1984
Richard Johnston’s sculpture is a stylized bird form in stainless steel. mounted on tall concrete column. The sculpture is installed near the entrance to Tracy Aviary in Liberty Park.
One of the project goals was to create an artwork that expressed the energy and vitality of Jordan Skate Park and the people who use it. Ellison’s colorful sculpture, which is about 30 feet high, is also a “marker” for the location of the skateboard facility, providing optimum visibility from the street and the park. In Ellison’s project overview he stated of the sculpture, “It is designed to be a positive, intriguing, and fun work tailored specifically for the youth who encounter it and yet provide imagery which is general enough to appeal to all members of the neighborhood.”
Born in Michigan, Ellison acquired his BFA and MFA degrees from Michigan State University. He has permanently sited commissions across the country. Ellison first worked in ceramics. He taught at Michigan State University, Lansing Community College, College of Marin and San Francisco Academy of Art College. He migrated to large scale sculpture. He was recognized for his love of whimsy and colorful palette. Ellison passed away in September 2012.
The bronze and ceramic paver project was created by Los Angeles artist Roberto Delgado, with the assistance of sculptor Doug Warnock of Pocatello, ID and ceramist Susan Gamble of Tucson, AZ.
Designed to provide a “horizontal gallery” in the sidewalk, approximately thirty of these pavers will replace, in a random pattern, thirty of the two-foot square granite pavers around the corner of Main Street and 200 South by the One Utah Center.
Salt Lake teenagers, with direction from Salt Lake City artist Ed Dolinger, devised the images incorporated into the ceramic tiles, fabricated at the Santa Theresa Tile Works in Tucson. Doug Warnock who teaches at Idaho State University was responsible for the casting and fabrication of the bronze collars. Warnock is also leading the installation team.
In recognition of the significance firefighters have in our community, Utah artist Silvia Davis created this larger-than-life size form of a firefighter in full gear. The sculpture is prominently placed in the entry hall of Fire Station 1, the main fire station for Salt Lake City.
Noted Utah sculptor Silvia Davis’s style has been described as a geometric realism; often her carved wood or cast bronze works have a wit and charm not usual in “serious” sculpture.
Noted Utah sculptor Silvia Davis’s style has been described as a geometric realism; often her carved wood or cast bronze works have a wit and charm not usual in “serious” sculpture.
Silvia Davis and Jim Jacobs collaborated on this project for the new Gallivan Center plaza in 1994.
The snowflake design seen in the tree grates throughout Gallivan Plaza is a pattern easily recognized by Utahns. This pattern was taken from a photograph of a snowflake and then redrawn on a computer to make sure the openings were enough that water would easily flow to the trees. One quarter of the pattern was drawn life-size and was used to make two life size wooden patterns for the bronze casting. The finished grate consists of four bronze quadrants bolted together and treated with a patina finish.
This project was part of the Block 57 development / The Gallivan Center.