AURORA, Colo. - The City of Aurora recently added another public art piece to its collection when it accepted the gift of a culturally significant sculpture by an important late-20th century artist.
A Private Equity Fund sponsored by The Trammell Crow Company offered the City of Aurora the sculpture by artist Lyman Kipp, and the city's Art in Public Places Program graciously accepted the gift in late 2008.
The Art in Public Places Program, which completely restored the artwork, installed the minimalist metal sculpture Tuesday, March 24 at Aurora's Hoffman Heights Library, located at 1298 Peoria St., just three miles north of its original home. The restoration was funded through the City of Aurora's 1% Public Art Fund. Goodland Construction generously paid for a crane to carefully remove the sculpture from its 25 year old base.
The red and yellow sculpture titled "Alto" was originally commissioned in 1984 for Aurora Corporate Plaza, a business park located on South Peoria Street and East Mississippi Avenue. The 15-foot-high by 6-foot-wide by 6-foot-deep sculpture stood majestically over the Plaza until 2008 when the Trammell Crow Company made plans to renovate the plaza, at which time they offered the sculpture to the Aurora's Art in Public Places Program.
A counterpart sculpture by Kipp titled "Red Wing" will remain at the Aurora Corporate Plaza. The two sculptures are the only sculptures by the artist in Colorado.
About the Artist
Lyman Kipp was a prominent sculptor from the 1950s to the 1970s. He was a co-founder of ConStruct, an artist-run gallery in Chicago in the 1970s, which was founded with Mark di Suvero, Kenneth Snelson and other well-known minimalists.
Kipp's work was included in exhibitions at Storm King Art Center, the Whitney Museum of American Art and in the "Monumenta" and "Monumental Sculpture" shows in Newport, R.I., and Houston. His work is in many public, university and museum collections including The Smithsonian American Museum and the Whitney Museum of American Art.
Kipp studied at Pratt Institute in New York (1950 to 1952) and Cranbrook Academy of Art in Michigan (1952 or 1954). Other noteworthy accolades are that he received a Fulbright Grant (1966) and Guggenheim Fellowship (1966). He is 79, and lives in Naples, Fla.
About the Aurora Art in Public Places Program, Cultural Services Division
Aurora's public art program mission is to create a legacy of quality public art by building and maintaining a collection that enriches and engages the community of Aurora.
The Cultural Services Division is the largest single provider of arts and culture in the City of Aurora offering programs in performing arts, fine arts, history, public art, special events and festivals, and community volunteerism.
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Contact:
Deana Miller
Public Art Program Manager
Voice: 303-739-6747
Cell: 720-333-2617
dsmiller@auroragov.org