A downtown improvement project to ready and place two 45-foot-tall sculptures that were designed by renowned artist Dennis Oppenheim will start on Monday, May 24, and continue during the next several weeks. Crews will install the foundation and infrastructure that will culminate with the placement of the large-scale artwork on Charleston Boulevard at Main Street and at Las Vegas Boulevard.
Most of the work will take place during the day, although some night work will be necessary. Temporary traffic lane restrictions can be expected on Charleston Boulevard, near the Fourth Street intersection, while work is under way.
The project is slated for completion in August.
Oppenheim specially designed his Paintbrush Gateway sculptures to serve as way-finding guides to the Las Vegas Arts District. Oppenheim’s creation is a pair of paintbrushes that stand more than 45 feet tall. When lit, the brush tips will emit an array of rainbow lights into the sky.
“The Paintbrush Gateway projects a stroke, 2,000 feet long, going into darkness, thus echoing an artist’s excursion into the unknown,” said Oppenheim, who currently lives and works in New York.
Oppenheim has exhibited his works internationally in galleries and museums including the Tate Gallery, London; Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam; Whitney Museum of American Art and The Museum of Modern Art, New York; Musée d'Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris; Galerie Pro Arte, Germany; and the Joseph Helman Gallery, New York.
The Arts District is a classic urban mix of residential, commercial and cultural uses that continues to grow as the hub of the arts scene in Las Vegas. The Arts District is located in the area of Commerce Street, Hoover Avenue, Fourth Street and Las Vegas Boulevard at Charleston Boulevard and Colorado Avenue.
Richardson Construction is the contractor. The city of Las Vegas Department of Public Works is managing the project. Funding for the $95,000 installation improvements is provided by the Nevada Department of Transportation stewardship program and the city of Las Vegas.
