Farmington will install new sculptures downtown

• The city of Farmington launched its downtown sculpture program last spring.
• The inaugural group consisted of nine pieces, four of which have been purchased by the city.
• This year's group features 11 works by New Mexico, Colorado and Utah artists.

When the city of Farmington launched its downtown sculpture program last spring, one of the stated goals of the initiative was to generate public interest in the artwork that would possibly lead to the pieces being purchased by members of the public, thus generating sales for the participating artist and a commission for the city.

As it turns out, the city wound up being its best — and only — customer for the program.

A total of 11 new sculptures will be installed at locations throughout downtown Farmington on Thursday, May 9 and Friday, May 10 to replace the nine works that were included in the first year of the program. While none of those nine sculptures were purchased by the public, four of them have been bought by the City of Farmington and will be displayed at various sites around the city in the future, according to Karen Lupton, the city’s Main Street coordinator and economic development specialist.

The four sculptures purchased by the city include “Sun Lion” by D’Jean Jawrunner, “Chat” by Shohini Ghosh, “Savor the Moment” by David Hickman and “Farmer” by Lawrence Starck. Lupton said “Savor the Moment” will be relocated to the under-construction Boundless Journey Adventure Park, while “Chat” is possibly headed for the plaza outside the Farmington Civic Center. “Farmer” will be relocated to the new pavilion that will be constructed this spring for the Farmington Growers Market west of the Farmington Museum at Gateway Park.

“It’s a start,” Lupton said of the four sculptures being purchased by the city, explaining that city officials understood it would take some time to generate momentum for and interest behind the fine art program.

The Farmington Chamber of Commerce and Artifacts Gallery owner Bev Taylor could give that effort a boost in the future, she noted, explaining that they have begun discussions with business leaders about purchasing some of the work featured in the program for their permanent collections.

The works chosen for the second year of program were selected by juror Fredrick Prescott, a Santa Fe sculptor whose work already may be somewhat familiar to people who patronize the Farmington Public Library. Fredrick’s sculpture of three horses is positioned on the expansive lawn south of the library.

He’ll have a piece called “Free Range Longhorn” that is included in this year’s group of downtown sculpture. Lupton said it is stylistically similar to the piece featured at the library.

Other sculptures chosen for this year’s group include works in bronze, galvanized steel and marble, Lupton said, and are the products of artists from New Mexico, Utah and Colorado.

“They’re very different from last year,” she said.

All of the sculptures are on loan to the city for a year.

Although none of the pieces from the inaugural group were purchased by companies or individuals, as city officials had hoped, Lupton said the response she has gotten from members of the public about the downtown sculpture program has been nothing but positive.

“People have enjoyed them,” she said. “And business owners have enjoyed having them down there.”

The artwork has helped create a different aesthetic downtown, Lupton said, adding that the sculptures have provided an incentive for visitors to the district to walk around the area instead of simply parking their cars in front of the business they intend to frequent and going inside.

More:New public sculpture program puts art on a pedestal in downtown Farmington

“Downtown is meant for a pedestrian experience,” she said.

For more information about the program, visit fmtn.org/sculptures.

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