8230 Civic Center Dr
Elk Grove, CA

Elk Grove’s investment in the arts extends far beyond the walls of area galleries and into the surrounding community. A walk or drive around Elk Grove will reveal interesting, photo-worthy pieces of public art, including many creative interpretations of the fauna found throughout the region — such as wolves, horses and the city’s namesake elk. Nearly a dozen works can be found around District56 and along their Avenue of the Arts, including contemporary sculptures, paintings and murals

8230 Civic Center Dr
Elk Grove, CA

“Unity” is a suspended installation in the Community Center lobby, featuring 870 recycled polymer/glass hands hanging from a 10x14-foot metal grid. Six hand molds spell out "unity" in American Sign Language, with one hand showing the peace gesture. The center, made of blue and green hands, represents Earth and is lit by LEDs at night, creating the illusion of a floating planet. During the day, sunlight creates colorful shadows in the lobby. Local residents’ hands were used to connect the piece to the community. Ben Phipps, with a B.S. in Electrical Engineering from the University of Rhode Island, uses his expertise in plastics and optics to create innovative public art. His work, often made from recycled materials, has been commissioned by various cities and featured in several galleries.

8230 Civic Center Dr
Elk Grove, CA

The sculpture, "Ravishing Retiré," stands 14 feet tall. Trevor O’Tool has masterfully captured a dancer in motion, using triangular steel shapes painted a dark red. This striking piece marks the east entrance to the Civic Center Plaza. Trevor O’Tool earned his Bachelor of Fine Arts from the University of Arizona at Tucson in 2013. After graduation, he stayed connected with the university, working as a shop technician assistant and later as a welder at the Metal Physics Sculpture Studio, a local foundry in Tucson. Recently, he completed a large-scale installation featuring five deer sculptures in a park in Marana, Arizona.

8230 Civic Center Dr
Elk Grove, CA

"Literature," a 10-foot tall stack of books made of stainless steel and copper, sits near the south entrance of the new Community Center. Featuring "The Grapes of Wrath" by John Steinbeck, it symbolizes the 1930s migration of farm laborers to California. Born in 1948, Adrian Litman learned art early in his father's studio. He attended Fine Arts High School in Bucharest, Romania, and graduated from the University of Bucharest Art Institute in 1974 with a Master's in Graphic Design. After working as a graphic designer in the San Francisco Bay Area, he founded Adrian Litman Art & Design Studio in 2002. For over 15 years, he has created commissioned artworks for public and private clients, including several California cities and the Stanford School of Law.

8230 Civic Center Dr
Elk Grove, CA

"Artist and Model," a sculpture by Viktor Verhovod, features two life-sized stainless steel figures: a painter with his palette and brush, and his model. The "screen" backdrop is created from the negative space of the cut-outs. Verhovod says, “The underlying message of my art is that there is always a position that has not yet been filled, a niche suitable for every one of us, to use our talents to bring joy to others and satisfaction to ourselves.” Born in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, Verhovod graduated from Tashkent, Uzbekistan, with a degree in Sculpture and Art Education. He spent 17 years at a government-supported studio in Kyrgyzstan, designing and supervising public art projects. He has received public art commissions from Yolo County, Citrus College in Los Angeles, and Sacramento County. For the past 11 years, he has been a full-time artisan at Gladding, McBean, creating architectural terracotta fragments. His work reflects his experiences in Russia and discoveries in America.

8230 Civic Center Dr
Elk Grove, CA

The sculpture honors the city’s agricultural heritage, depicting a seed pod sprouting leaves. The leaves move with the wind, mirroring the nearby pistachio orchard. Ride Art Studio, founded by artists Jonathan Russell and Saori Ide Russell, creates site-specific public art. Their design process begins with understanding the historical and cultural significance of the location and its current community use, focusing on the relationship between the past and future.

8230 Civic Center Dr
Elk Grove, CA

Emerging from the ground like a surge of water, "Cloud Fountain" by Gordon Huether is a 24-foot-tall abstract aluminum sculpture. Inspired by a droplet suspended in space, the sculpture's undulating lines convey the behavior of water bursting forth and returning to the earth. Designed to be appreciated from all angles, the moiré effect of its surface creates a kinetic experience, making it appear as if the sculpture is moving. During the day, the aluminum bars cast rippling patterns and shadows, while at night, multi-colored LEDs illuminate the sculpture in a shifting pattern. Born in Rochester, New York, in 1959, Gordon Huether received his first public art commission in 1989 for the University of Alaska Geophysical Institute. Since then, he has completed over 70 public art projects across the country for various institutions. His work is often inspired by the effects of nature on man-made materials.