Denver City Council on Monday unanimously approved a contract to build and install an enormous piece of new public art in Denver International Airport’s Great Hall.
When it’s finished in three years, “The Stars and the Cottonwood Tree” will rise 60 feet from the floor at the south end of the Jeppesen Terminal in tandem with the years-long Great Hall Completion Project, according to the city’s website.
Contractor The Lipski Group Inc. — led by artist Donald Lipski — will fabricate and install the piece at an estimated cost of $3,590,500.
Made of resin and stainless steel, the piece was inspired by Cottonwood trees, which are endemic to Colorado and the Western plains, according to the City Council ordinance. The 7-foot-wide canopy of the tree “will be draped in over 30,000 crystals creating rainbow prisms of light throughout the terminal. The base of the sculpture will feature Colorado rock as a seating element, creating a memorable meeting place for passengers.”
While the city council was required to approve the funding, the piece is funded through Denver’s 1% Public Art program. It directs 1% of the budget for “any capital improvement project over $1 million undertaken by the city be set aside for the inclusion of art in the design and construction of the project,” according to Denver Arts & Venues, which manages the city’s public art collection.
Lipski, 77, has installed dozens of high-profile public artworks across the U.S. during his career, including Denver. Local installations have included The Yearling — the horse on the giant chair outside the Denver Public Library — and inside the Wellington E. Webb Municipal Building.
DIA’s public art collection also just grew with the high-profile installation of local artist Detour’s stunning “It’s Not What You Take, It’s What You Bring Back,” a rainbow-hued, figure-eight sculpture funded with $450,000 of 1% Public Art money.
