More than $2.4 million in art will adorn the Colorado Convention Center by the
time the final works are installed next year.
The pieces by 11 artists from across the country were funded through the city’s
1-percent-for-art ordinance, which requires that 1 percent of the budgets for
public projects of $1 million or more be set aside for art purchases.
Here’s a look at five of the building’s most notable artworks.
‘Dancers’ by Jonathan Borofsky, Ogunquit, Maine
Cost: The still-controversial work’s $1.58 million price tag was covered in part
with $400,000 in convention-center art funds.
Description: These two 60-foot-tall semi-abstracted dancing figures stand north
of Champa Street next to the Denver Performing Arts Complex.
‘Indeterminate Line’ by Bernar Venet, New York City
Cost: $600,000
Description: This 33-foot-tall Cor-Ten sculpture along Speer Boulevard has
quickly taken its place as one of the city’s signature pieces of public art. The
abstract work has a circular, slightly torqued form.
‘Laughing Escalator’ by Jim Green, Denver
Cost: $68,000
Description: Green has earned national attention for his wonderfully witty and
imaginative sound sculptures. This one consists of weight-triggered laughing
sounds emanating from an escalator in the east lobby.
‘Model State: A Local Cosmology’ by John McEnroe, Denver
Cost: $113,000
Description: McEnroe, one of Denver’s edgiest conceptual artists, makes his
first foray into public art with these three 16-foot-tall polyester resin wall
sculptures. They look like interconnected parts for a giant model.
‘I see what you mean’ by Lawrence Argent, Denver
Cost: $400,000
Description: Tentatively scheduled for installation in May, this is probably the
convention center’s most eagerly anticipated artwork. Shown here partially
completed, it consists of a whimsical, 40-foot-tall blue bear peering in the
windows of the center.
