Some Sculpture Walk Highlights
Riverpoint Observatory – Patrick Zentz
Patrick Zentz is a sculptor from Laurel, Montana and received his MFA from the University of Montana in Missoula. He was awarded an LEF Foundation Grant (1992), a fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts (1990), and a grant from Art Matters (1988). His work has been exhibited throughout the nation, including the Yellowstone Art Museum, the San Antonio Museum of Art, Boulder Art Center, and the Contemporary Arts Museum in Houston, Texas.
Zentz designed this sculpture to act as system reflective of the Riverpoint Campus's natural setting. In homage to the massive deposits of columnar basalt in the Inland Northwest, the sculpture’s base consists of cast hexagonal concrete columns. A steel and glass roof—etched with Mt. Spokane’s topography and providing atmospheric information—creates a protective arbor. The image of the Spokane River is cut into the walkway, a nod to the campus’s name and namesake. An aluminum anemometer and wind vane atop the roof to provide evidence of wind action visible from both adjacent buildings and the enclosure. Finally, a gnomon adjacent to the structure casts its shadow into the interior of the enclosed space. At noon on the solstices and equinoxes, it intersects circular brass markers in the walkway. More Information!
Cooperation – Michihiro Kosuge
Michihiro Kosuge is currently a professor at Portland State University and has acted as a visiting artist at the School of Art in Chicago, the Center for Creative Studies/College of Art and Design in Detroit, Montana State University, and the Oregon School of Design. Kosuge received a Visual Artist Fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts (1982–1983) and an International Scholarship from the San Francisco Art Institute. Sculpture magazine calls him "one of the most accomplished of Pacific Northwest artists" (2006).
Michihiro Kosuge’s standing stones and boulders reflect the Riverpoint Campus’s landscape and its basalt rock outcroppings—a distinctive local feature. Kosuge reminds us that Cooperation uses very old material and points out that though higher education aims toward the future, it is appropriate to remember our past. Likewise, the carved and textured surfaces of the boulders recall pictographs created by the region's first inhabitants. More Information!
Light Reading – Peter Reiquam
Peter Reiquam is a Seattle artist whose work ranges from prints and drawings to sculptural furniture, mechanical sculptures, and public art projects. Reiquam served six years as a commissioner on the King County Public Art Commission and has taught sculpture at Pratt Fine Arts Center, Cornish College of the Arts, and the University of Washington.
Light is key to this project—aesthetically and conceptually. Internally lit bookcases illuminate the room, representing the knowledge gained through reading. The radiant books provide a unique light source, making this installation accessible after dark. The vertical bookcase, as seen from a short distance away, reflects in scale the warmth and luster of the Academic Center's four-story glass entry. The stone's polished surface recalls the surrounding landscape. More Information!
East-West Arbor – Jody Pinto
Environmental sculptor and landscape designer Jody Pinto, currently lives in New York City. Pinto's outdoor work features such elements as pedestrian bridges and walkways, terraces, floral plantings and play areas for children. Her awards include the American Society of Landscape Architects, 1992; and American Institute of Architects, 1988. Pinto completed her studies with a B.F.A. degree in 1973 from the Philadelphia College of Art.
This environmental artwork creates a viewing area for the Spokane River. The arbor joins both East and West with a symbolic threshing floor. The arbor is also surrounded by "Gift Gardens" planted to represent Spokane's Sister Cities: Nishinomiya, Japan; Lübeck, Germany; Jilin City, China; and Limerick, Ireland. More Information!
Michael P. Anderson – Dorothy Fowler
Dorothy Fowler has been sculpting for over 20 years. She majored in art at San Jose State University, and studied art at Spokane Community College. Ms. Fowler's bronzes are contemporary studies of the human form that reflect her love of life, her love of children, and her gentle nature. She has exhibited her work for many shows, including the "Monac" Festival West Juried Art Show, The Gene Ball Fine Arts Gallery, Nordstrom's Gallery, and The Vintage Wheel Museum Fine Arts Gallery.
The sculpture honors Michael P. Anderson who gave his life exploring space. This Spokane resident perished along with six other heroes in the Columbia Space Shuttle Tragedy in 2003. More Information!
Aluminum Fountain – George Tsutakawa
George Tsutakawa (1910-1997), sculptor and painter, is perhaps best known for some seventy-five public fountains created and installed in North America and Japan. Tsutakawa earned his BFA and MFA from the University of Washington and served on the faculty of the UW School of Art from 1947 until his retirement in 1976. Tsutakawa is beloved as a "treasure of the Pacific Northwest" for the contributions he and his family have made over the years to the cultural life of the region.
This tall aluminum fountain is an abstract style located on the south side of the INB Performing Arts Center. In his lifetime, Tsutakawa created more than 80 fountains in the U.S. and in Japan. More Information!
Moon Crater – Glen Michaels
"Glen Michaels … paints or sculpts by applying thousands of stones, bits of wood, glass, terra cotta, metal (or what you will) into dense, ornamentally organized panels. Whether he is a painter or a sculptor makes no difference except that he is concerned, as any artist must be, with the process of transformation." – John Canaday - The New York Times.
An abstract bronze sculpture of a moon crater with wood textures was installed for Expo '74 held in Spokane. More Information!
The Childhood Express – Ken Spiering
Ken Spiering's work can be seen in several sites around Spokane, including Riverfront Park and the Spokane Convention Center. His sculptures have been placed in Everett and in Alaska. Ken holds an MFA from the University of Idaho, and teaches regularly at several local institutions.
Spokane's "Red Wagon" sculpture was created in honor of Washington State's 1989 Centennial. It was a gift from the Junior League of Spokane, many local businesses, and the Spokane Arts Commission to the children of Spokane. More Information!
Goat – Sister Paula Turnbull
Discover the paintings and larger-than-life sculptures of prolific Spokane artist Sister Paula Turnbull. Sister Paula, of the Sisters of the Holy Names of Jesus and Mary, uses her studio at the Holy Names Convent to produce art work that ranges from religious to whimsical. Perhaps her best known sculpture is the garbage eating goat at Spokane's Riverfront Park, as well as the "Anna and Alta" mother-daughter sculpture at Browne’s Addition and the recent Mike Cmos Memorial at the Spokane Wastewater Treatment Facility.
The corten steel sculpture of a goat will eat small pieces of trash with the aid of its vacuum digestive system. More Information!
Rotary Riverfront Fountain – Harold Balazs and Bob Perron
Harold Balazs of Mead, WA, is best known for his public works of art in communities throughout the Pacific Northwest. Balazs crafts and sculpts in multimedia. His range of materials includes wood, metal, concrete, enamel and wrought iron. Balazs earned his bachelor's of arts degree in 1951 from Washington State University. He has worked as a self-employed artist since and has served three terms on the Washington State Arts Commission. The American Institute of Architects awarded Balazs a gold medal in architectural crafts in 1967. He received a Washington state Governor's Award in the Arts in 1988 and a lifetime achievement award from the Enamelist Society. In 2001, Balazs was profiled in the Living Treasures Project, a video series that documents the Northwest's important and influential craftsmen and artists that ran on public television.
Robert Perron holds a Bachelors Degree in Landscape Architecture & Urban Planning from the School of Architecture & Allied Arts, University of Oregon; a Masters Degree in Landscape Architecture & Urban Design from the Graduate School of Design, Harvard University; and a Diploma of Landscape Architecture from the Royal Academy of Fine Arts, University of Copenhagen, Denmark. In 1995, Robert Perron was named a Fellow for excellence in design by the American Society of Landscape Architects. Professional design awards have been received on fifty projects throughout the western United States. Since establishing Perron Collaborative in December 1964, Mr.Perron has held visiting professorships in the School of Architecture at the University of Oregon, the University of Minnesota, and Texas A&M University. Notable works include Salmon Springs Fountain, Portland, Oregon; Oregon Garden, Silverton, Oregon; and South and Central Downtown Waterfront Redevelopment, Portland, Oregon.
This monumental abstract sculpture is both a "big sprinkler" for child's play and visual play. It was commissioned by Rotary Club 21 with support from donations from the community. More Information!
Vietnam Veteran’s Memorial – Deborah Copenhaver-Fellows
Deborah Copenhaver-Fellows is recognized throughout the United States for her bronze and silver sculpture. Her works can be seen in corporate and private collections, including the United States Capitol Building and the Reagan White House collections. With a degree in fine arts, Deborah Copenhaver-Fellows has continued to study sculpture and art history in the United States, Italy, France, and Greece. She currently lives in Sonoita, AZ.
The names of all the Vietnam veterans from the Spokane area are engraved in the sculpture's pedestal. More Information!
The Joy of Running Together – David Govedare
David Govedare is the Northwest's most recognized artist for public/outdoor work with many well known installations. He has produced landmark pieces such as the Bloomsday runners in downtown Spokane, as well as the wild horse sculptures overlooking the Columbia River at Vantage, WA.
This corten steel sculpture depicts runners of all kinds. It celebrates the Spokane tradition of Bloomsday, the largest timed road running race in the world. The race is held the first Sunday in May ever since the first "Bloomsday Run" in 1977. The course is 12 kilometers or 7.46 miles. More Information!
The Places Where Ghosts of Salmon Jump – Sherman Alexie
Sherman Joseph Alexie, Jr. is an award-winning and prolific author and occasional comedian. Much of his writing draws on his experiences as a modern Native American. Originally from Spokane, he now lives in Seattle, WA.
This piece of artwork is a poem engraved in granite and formed into a spiral on the ground. The poem is about the Spokane Falls, which can be seen from where the poem is written. It is also representative of the Spokane heritage. More Information!
Public Libraries Art Collection
The City of Spokane Libraries include works commissioned specifically for the downtown and branch libraries. The projects were funded as part of the Library Board of Trustees' policy to allocate one percent of the cost of a new construction to permanent public art. For a complete list of Spokane Library artwork, please pick up a Spokane Art Sites Guide brochure from City Hall or at various brochure racks around the City of Spokane or click to download a PDF version of the brochure.
Fire Stations Art Collection
Funded by the City of Spokane's 1% for Art Ordinance as administrated by the Spokane Arts Commission, works are featured at various City of Spokane Fire Stations. Each fire station has a Firefighter Memorial Plaque, and specially commissioned artworks by local and regional artists. For a complete list of Spokane Fire Station artwork, please pick up a Spokane Art Sites Guide brochure from City Hall or at various brochure racks around the City of Spokane or click to download a PDF version of the brochure.
