Public Art to Feast Your Eyes On

Europe

England

The Singing Ringing Tree is a ten-foot-tall sculpture located in the Pennine Hill range in Burnley, England. It was created to resemble the grace and shape of a real tree. This sculpture is a wind-powered sound sculpture. It was created by architects Mike Tonkin and Anna Liu. The sculpture is made of galvanized steel and when the wind blows through it a song is produced. It won the National Award of the Royal Institute of British Architects/RIBA in 2007.

Force of Nature is a statue located in several major cities around the world. The sculpture in the photo is located in London. England. It was designed by Italian artist Lorenzo Quinn who was inspired by the destruction created by hurricanes. The sculpture is made of bronze, stainless steel, and aluminum and depicts Mother Nature hurling the planet in circles.

France

Les Voyageurs is a sculpture created by French artist Bruno Catalano. It can be seen in Marseille, France at the Marseille-Fos Port. The sculpture evokes the thought that travelers leave parts of themselves behind when they leave home to travel to another country. The artist says the statues were meant to represent emigrants.

Le Pouce is a giant bronze thumb standing outside of the Centre Pompidou in Paris, France. It was designed by French artist Cesar Baldaccini.

Germany

Tiger & Turtle: Magic Mountain from afar resembles a winding roller coaster. Actually, it is a monumental sculpture created by German artists Heike Mutter and Ulrich Genth. The sculpture is positioned on a hilltop in Duisburg, Germany. It can be walked through from top to bottom and looks particularly sensational when after sunset it is lit by 880 LED lights.

Hungary

Popped Up is a giant sculpture depicting a man crawling out of the earth. It was designed by Hungarian artist Ervin Herve-Loranth and can be viewed at Stzechenyl Square in Budapest, Hungary.

Italy

Rampante is a Ferrari statue located in front of the Autodromo Internazionale Enzo e Dino Ferrari is a racetrack near the town of Imola, Italy. French-born American artist Arman was commissioned to create this statue dedicated to the Ferrari F40. The statue consists of a five-meter-tall pile of bronze replicas of Ferrari F40 models. Ferrari provided the artist with the original red color used for the cars to paint the monument.

Colosso dell’Appennino is a sculpture that guards a quiet pond. This sculpture is made of brick and stone. It is the creation of Flemish sculptor Giambologna. This stone artwork sits on the grounds of Villa Demidoff in Vaglia, Tuscany Italy. The colossal figure is a personification of the Apennine Mountains.

The Ecstasy of Saint Teresa is among the few sculptural masterpieces of the High Roman Baroque. It is the marble creation of 17th-century Italian artist Gian Lorenzo Bernini. It is the centerpiece in Santa Maria della Vittoria’s Cornaro Chapel in Rome, Italy.

Spain

During a Formula 1 race in Italy in 1994 Brazilian-born Formula 1 driver Ayrton Senna was killed. He has been memorialized in a sculpture in Barcelona, Spain. The sculpture was created by British artist Paul Oz and unveiled in 2019 marking the 25th anniversary of Senna’s death.

The Statue of the Bear and the Strawberry Tree can be seen in Madrid, Spain. The sculpture was created out of stone and bronze and is thirteen-foot tall. This is the creation of Spanish sculptor Antonio Navarro Santafe. This is a 1967 artwork that represents the Coat of Arms of Madrid. It is located in the public square Puerta del Sol.

Maman is a large sculpture created by French-American artist Louise Bourgeois. The artist used her sculptures to bring the concepts of fear, anger, jealousy, and her own painful childhood to the eyes of the public. Maman is a thirty-foot-tall sculpture of a terrifying spider standing on long slender legs. It is located outside the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, Spain.

Asia

Singapore

First Generation was commissioned by the Singapore Tourism Board. It was created by Singaporean sculptor Chong Fah Cheong. The sculpture depicts five eager young boys jumping into the Singapore River. It can be seen at the Boat Quay by the Fullerton Hotel.

Australia

The Architectural Fragment was created by Australian artist Petrus Spronk. The sculpture looks to be buried underground before the State Library of Victoria. It symbolizes the downfall of civilizations while alluding to the transience of the present.

New Zealand

Diminish and Ascend was designed by New Zealand artist David McCracken. The sculpture looks like a never-ending staircase going straight up into the clouds. It can be viewed at Kiosk Lake in Christchurch Botanic Garden in Christchurch, New Zealand.

North America

Canada

Digital Orca is an unusual piece of artwork created in 2009 by Canadian novelist, designer, and visual artist Douglas Coupland. It was commissioned by the city of Vancouver to overlook the harbor and the mountains of Cypress Provincial Park. The sculpture consists of a steel armature with aluminum cladding and black and white cubes.

Alberta’s Dream is a statue created by Spanish-born artist Jaume Plensa. It can be viewed on the north side of the Bow Tower. The artwork is a self-portrait bronze sculpture that resembles the views of the Canadian provinces.

At the front entrance to the Bow Tower, you’ll find another artwork by Plensa called Wonderland.

The US

California

Hymn of Life: Tulips is a beautiful statue in Beverly Gardens Park in Beverly Hills, California. It was created by Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama. There is a collection of painted fiberglass sculptures in the shape of tulips. Unfortunately, once the sculpture was revealed it suffered water damage and was recreated using stainless steel.

Illinois

Cloud Gate has become one of the landmarks in Chicago, Illinois. The sculpture was created by British-Indian sculptor Anish Kapoor. This is a 110-ton elliptical sculpture found in Millennium Park. It beautifully reflects the Chicago skyline.

Minnesota

Spoonbridge and Cherry is a sculpture that was created by Dutch-born American sculptor, art historian, and critic Coosje van Bruggen and her husband Swedish-born sculptor Claes Oldenburg. The lovely sculpture can be seen at the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

New York

Bridge Over Tree is located at Brooklyn Bridge Park in Brooklyn. New York. It was designed by Iranian-born and Minneapolis-based artist Siah Armajani. The sculpture consists of a 91-foot-long bridge with a set of stairs at its midpoint. The stairs take visitors up and down looking over a small evergreen tree.

Balloon Flower (Red) is a sculpture located by the new World Trade Center in New York City. It is the creation of American sculptor Jeff Koons.

Non-Violence/The Knotted Gun is a sculpture created by Swedish painter and sculptor Carl Fredrik Reuter. It can be viewed next to the United Nations in New York City. The sculpture represents hope for a nonviolent future. The artwork was commissioned by Luxembourg as a gift to the United Nations.

Spot is a thirty-foot-tall statue of a Dalmatian dog balancing a life-sized taxi on its nose. It sits in front of the NYU Langone Health Medical Center in New York City. It is the creation of American sculptor Donald Lipski.

Pennsylvania

The Clothespin sculpture can be found near City Hall in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was created by Swedish-born sculptor Claes Oldenburg and completed in 1976 to celebrate the US Bicentennial.

Texas

Mustangs is a large bronze sculpture created by Robert Glen. It was commissioned by the city of Las Colinas, Texas. The artwork depicts nine wild mustangs running through a watercourse. Fountains give the impression of water splashed by the horses’ hooves. It can be viewed at William Square in Las Colinas.