For decades, Reno has had a statue here and there – in front of the Pioneer Center for the Performing Arts, on the University of Nevada-Reno campus. It wasn’t until the early 1990s, however, that the city began to take public art seriously.
The city’s Public Art Program adopted by the Reno City Council in 1992 decreed that the budget for any new city construction or park had to include two percent for public art. Perforated Object 27 by Michael Heizer, which stands in front of the Bruce R. Thompson Federal Building, was one of the first public art works, installed four years after the ordinance was enacted. Since that time, a host of projects funded by the city, art groups, organizations and private citizens have added to a steadily growing number of works in public places
Nevada Museum of Art
When the newest incarnation of the Nevada Museum of Art was built in 2004, sculpture was an important part of its exterior. Outdoor art in the Wilbur D. May Sculpture Plaza at the building’s northwest corner includes Celeste Roberge’s “Cairn,” an exo-skeletal of anodized steel and Truckee River rock, a sit-upon statue spelling out the words “Inhale/Exhale” by New York sculptor Nancy Dwyer, and a larger-than-life bronze horse by Deborah Butterfield, commissioned specifically for the plaza. Other sculptures in the Nightingale Sculpture Gallery punctuate the greenery of the museum’s glass-walled roof garden.
University of Nevada Reno
In late summer of 2008, four impressive works were installed in the sculpture garden outside the new Knowledge Center at the University of Nevada, Reno. They are “Punjab VIII” by Los Angeles sculptor Michael Todd, “Offset Forms ‘08” by Melvin Schuler, “Rembrance No 3: by Randall Shiroma and “Ginnetoy 2nd” by Boaz Vaadia. The Knowledge Center is the second largest public works project in Nevada’s history.
Medical Center Art
Also in 2008 in conjunction with the opening of its new Tahoe Tower, Renown Medical Center unveiled a large number of works procured for its “Healing Arts” program. The collection includes 565 artworks created by 92 local and regional artists. Although most of the paintings decorate patient rooms, works by 17 artists are on display in the Sierra and Tahoe Tower lobbies, as well as the elevator bays on floors 1, 2, 3, 4 and 6 of the Tahoe Tower.
The medical center’s outdoor art includes a work by San Francisco sculptor Matt Gil at the Tahoe Tower lobby entrance and three large sculptures, “The Circle of Squares,” “The Wind Column” and “The Column that Supports the Sky” in the Healing Garden, which opened in October, 2007. All three works are by all by internationally known Cork Marcheschi
All Around the Town
Other easily accessible public art includes two bike racks funded by the Bike Project, a group of area bicyclists. One of the racks, created by Christina Cortez, is a handsome black metal structure with contemporary filigree design behind the Chapel Tavern on Mt. Rose Street. Another, by Austin Baker, stands on First Street in front of City Hall.
Along the commercial area of Wells Avenue, murals have been created on the sides of buildings as part of an anti-graffiti program. “Birds,” a kinetic sculpture by David Boyer, is a showpiece at the Northwest Reno Library. Boyer also created 63 kinetic light-post pieces that are part of the downtown Reno arts make-over. Also in various places around town are 22 decorated electrical boxes.
 |
 |
 |
