Metal aspen trees and a canopy of leaves will soon tower over visitors at the 16th Street Mall.
Denver City Council approved a contract Monday with Poetic Kinetics, an Elbert-based art studio.
The city had already approved $750,000 for the project. The new contract adds new elements and brings the total cost to $1.6 million.
Where will the public art go?
Work on the installation will start in May. The first piece will be installed at 16th Street and Glenarm Place, consisting of three stainless steel aspen trees ranging from 22 feet to 30 feet tall, with “dichroic and colored acrylic kinetic leaves,” according to a city briefing.
“Visitors beneath these kinetic trees will find themselves immersed in a captivating play of sparkling, colored light,” a description of the work said.
The amended contract includes hundreds of thousands more dollars to add a “canopy of leaves” stretching across 16th Street. The canopy will also use the same acrylic material as aspen tree leaves.
Installation on that work will begin “later this summer”, according to Denver Arts and Venues. The canopy will be retractable in case of emergencies.
A rendering of the canopy appears to show green leaves suspended across the intersection of 16th and Glenarm on cables.
Metal tree mania
Where does the money come from? City law requires that a portion of money being spent on public projects be set aside for art. The project was approved by a 13-person art selection committee including community members, an artist, an art professional and a former council member.
And, yes, this is the second seven-figure metal tree art project that the city has approved in recent months.
In February, the city approved $3.6 million for “The Stars and the Cottonwood,” a 60-foot sculpture at the airport with 30,000 crystals for leaves.
