LaSalle Square: various artists

Sculpture has a unique way of captivating attention and anchoring environments. From the form and shape, the way it lives in the space it occupies, the clues about its creation story, sculpture can ground us in a neighborhood, become a signpost, tell us a story, or take us to different places or ways of thinking and seeing.

The Avenue Concept has installed sculpture at five specific sites in the Downtown Corridor, three at LaSalle Square, featured here. These artworks create an entry point at Empire Street and lead the viewer to explore the area which includes Trinity Brewhouse, Trinity Rep, and Providence Public Library.

The artworks at these sites (called “pads”) rotate every 1-2 years, allowing new works to come on to view. The Avenue Concept uses a jury process to discuss and decide on which artworks will go on display and artworks are suggested through an open call process with artists. The current work on view comes from artists who use form, materials, and theme to tell stories. We hope you find a story of your own in their mastery.

About the Artwork Currently on View:

Cotyledon by David Boyajian

Fountain X Empire

David Boyajian's work finds form in the moments when nature deconstructs itself. A seed caught in the wind. The green shoots of a wildflower pushing through the soil. The thrashing of a river after heavy rains. A surge of energy spurs a separation – a great unfolding. These naturally sculptural moments inspire Boyajian’s work. This piece, for example, speaks to the transformation, energy and time that takes place within a seed, focusing on the process of germination of a seed embryo that will activate photosynthesis.

Material: Steel

Artist IG: @davidboyajin_sculpture

Collusion by Mike Hansel

Empire X Sabin

“I think of my sculptures as reconstructions from my visual memory. Each design is the result of personal observations of my surroundings that have been processed and re-invented in my mind. My ideas go through many evaluations and revisions throughout the design process and construction of each sculpture. I generate and develop most of my ideas through the use of preliminary drawings and clay models. At times, I have explored the idea of “stability” both in terms of structure as well as how it affects perception. I am particularly interested in the relationship between numerous elements when they are working together to establish a unified whole. Collusion takes four rigid forms that have the appearance of being flexible and lively. The elements work together to maintain an uncertain level of stability. A fifth visual element appears to bind the others together to suggest that they are unified. Experiments with these ideas have yielded some compositions that appear to be simultaneously cohesive and yet somehow, unstable.” -Mike Hansel

Material: Stainless Steel

Artist IG: @mikehansel3d

Condemned II by Richard Goulis

Broadway X Empire

“I grew these two trees in my backyard in Providence, RI over the last 12 years. They were planted about 6 feet apart initially and when they grew to about 4 feet each, I began bending their branches together, tying them with bits of velcro and string. Each spring and summer for twelve years I did this until they grew to over 12 feet with their branches entwined in graceful embraces. When I felt it was time, I bound their leaves with wire, and coated the entire surface, leaves and all with a thick coat of polymer resin. When the coating had cured, I finally cut the two trees at ground level and built stands which serve to make the two trees transportable and able to remain in their original configuration. For me, this piece is about our relationship with our environment and how we treat it every day. I nurtured these trees for more than a decade and then cut them down and turned them into art. It was a difficult thing to do because I loved the process of training them into position each year and seeing them grow. I felt a little sad at first but I realized that the power did not diminish when I cut them. They transformed, helping me to create a powerful statement about how we control our environment sometimes at the detriment to ourselves.” -Richard Goulis

Material: Steel, Trees, Resin, Wire

Artist IG: @richard_goulis

Past Installations Include:

2015:

Red Pencil Elbow Grease by Gordon Moss

Pentagon Helix by Kurt Snell

Herky Jerky by Peter Diepenbrock

2016:

Colossal Fragment by Lionel Smit

Insert Finger by Jerry Ehrlich

Metahedra by Meredith Younger & Kris Brown

2017:

Free Fall III by Rado Kirov

Grey Area by George Sherwood

City Garden by Isabel Mattia, Amber Dauphinee