Professor’s Artwork Transforms Community Park in Denver

The four public art works were inspired by input from community members and historical research.

Wes Heiss Art

One of the public art works in a Denver, Colorado, park by Wes Heiss, an associate professor of product design in Lehigh's Department of Art, Architecture and Design.

A mile-long park in Denver, Colorado, is home to four new public art installations created by artist Wes Heiss, an associate professor of product design in Lehigh’s Department of Art, Architecture and Design.

The pieces provide opportunities for observers to interact with them. Each is distinctive, but all four feature a red-orange color that subtly unifies them. They also share the common function of marking something at the site – a direction, a piece of history or a personal connection, Heiss said.

The park is located in the Clayton and Cole neighborhoods and is the Heiss’s latest installation is his third commissioned work for the City of Denver. Heiss and his creative collaborator, Marek Walczak, were awarded the new commission to create public art for the park in 2018.

The pieces were installed in the spring. Inspiration for the art work came form a variety of sources, including historical research and direct input from community members. Read the full story here.

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