DENVER—A 32-foot sculpture of a rearing horse that friends say acclaimed artist Luis Jimenez was working on when a piece fell and crushed him to death is being completed and could be installed at Denver International Airport by the end of this year.
Airport deputy manager Sally Covington on Wednesday told Denver City Council members about the development during a committee meeting.
Airport spokesman Steve Snyder said Jimenez’s family worked to finish the fiberglass structure, though it was unclear whether family members did the work themselves or hired another artist.
“We’re in final negotiations right now with the family to try to get it here,” Snyder said. “We think it should be here by the end of the year.”
The Mustang was commissioned in 1992 at a cost of $300,000. Over the years there had been several arguments and lawsuits over the pace of the work. In June 2006, Jimenez died at his Hondo, N.M., studio when a section of the sculpture came loose from a hoist and pinned him against a steel support beam. He was 65.
Jimenez friend Nancy Fleming said it was part of the Denver sculpture that fell on Jimenez as he constructed it in three pieces: the head, middle and legs. It was his largest sculpture.
Once delivered, Mustang will sit on Pena Boulevard, in the median about a half-mile before the inbound road splits to the east or west side of the terminal, Snyder said.
“We’re excited about it,” Snyder said. “Obviously, it’s been a very long process, with a lot of ups and downs. The death of the artist was tragic, all the way around. Hopefully, it will be nice for the family to see it completed and put out here.”
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Information from: The Denver Post,
