Seven major artworks that have been in storage for years will get new life on the University of Denver campus, following a swap between the school and Denver Art Museum.
Artist Mark di Suvero’s 16-ton “Lao Tzu” sculpture, as it looks on Acorn Plaza before it was taken down in 2017. (Provided by University of Denver)
The sculptures include “monumental” works such as 1991’s “Lao Tzu,” by artist Mark di Suvero. That 33,000-pound, 30-foot-tall red steel sculpture formerly sat on Acorn Plaza, between the Denver Art Museum’s Martin Building and Denver Public Library’s main branch, along 13th Street in downtown Denver. In 2017, it was removed and put in storage to make way for more than $100 million of renovations and construction at the Denver Art Museum.
Other pieces will be on display for the first time in Colorado, said Geoffery Shamos, who oversees the University of Denver’s collections and art spaces. They’ll be installed over the next 16 to 18 months, with completion set for summer 2027 as part of the new Denver Art Museum Sculpture Collection. (See the full list of sculptures below.)
The timing is coincidental, Shamos said, with Denver Art Museum having completed major renovations and construction in recent years, and the University of Denver looking to bolster its own collection. Both institutions share board members, but the pieces were chosen by the Denver Art Museum for their aesthetic and educational value to the public. Some of them had been acquired from the 1970s through the 1990s as part of a potential, Civic Center-area sculpture garden that never materialized.
A few of those pieces ended up in prominent places, such as Gail Folwell’s “In the Peloton,” which sat near the Reiman Bridge that runs over 13th Street at the Denver Art Museum. It will be installed near DU’s Ritchie Center, according to the university.
While Shamos had no cost estimate for the project, which involves complicated transport and installation involving cranes, forklifts and newly poured concrete pads, he said it’s being paid for entirely with philanthropic donations, which will support the creative management team, construction, and conservators who will spruce up and weatherize each piece.
“Even having been around this work for a while, it’s always startling to see how many details and logistics there are to work out,” said Shamos, who oversees DU’s 8,000-item art collection. “But we’re so grateful to the Denver Art Museum for transferring these works to us from their permanent collection, which allows us to take advantage of our beautiful spaces on campus.”
“Bull Skull and Horn,” by artist Jack Zajac, dated 1962-1963. (Provided by University of Denver)
The steel and bronze works will become part of a new DU Art Walk that mixes existing outdoor sculptures on campus and the new crop from the museum. “This DU Art Walk is the first step in the creation of a holistic art experience at DU that will encompass art collections and galleries, and the performing arts,” the school said in a statement. They’ll sit along the north-south spine of the campus, Shamos added.
The pieces have been stored in various facilities across Denver until now, and their reinstallation will free up huge amounts of warehouse space, according to Shamos. The deal also underlines DU’s 100-year partnership with Denver Art Museum, dating back to when the nascent institutions shared a space in the historic Chappell House, at 1555 Race St. in Denver.
“This collaboration represents a unique synergy between two of Denver’s most vital anchors of culture and education,” said Craig Harrison, who serves on the boards of both DAM and DU, in a statement. “By bringing these monumental works from the DAM into the heart of the DU campus, we are reinforcing Denver’s reputation as a city where creativity and learning are truly inseparable.”
The collection will surely grow over time, Shamos said, but it already fits in nicely with other marquee Denver public art.
“That aspect is special, with Blucifer (a.k.a. ‘Mustang’) at the airport and the Big Blue Bear (‘I See What You Mean’) at the convention center becoming truly iconic,” he said. “It’s our hope that these works will join them.”
Here are the sculptures to be installed as part of the project:
“In the Peloton,” Gail Folwell (2014)
“Lao Tzu,” Mark di Suvero (1991)
“Intruder,” Lauren Ewing (1984)
“Device to Root Out Evil,” Dennis Oppenheim (1984)
“Yin and Yang,” Edgar Britton (1964)
“Bull Skull and Horn,” Jack Zajac (1962-1963)
“Herbides 4: Scalpay,” Catherine Lee (2004)