{"id":2673,"date":"2026-07-15T17:35:04","date_gmt":"2026-07-15T17:35:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/?p=2673"},"modified":"2026-07-15T17:35:04","modified_gmt":"2026-07-15T17:35:04","slug":"massive-1-8-million-public-art-piece-now-glowing-from-inside-colorado-convention-center","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/?p=2673","title":{"rendered":"Massive, $1.8 million public art piece now glowing from inside Colorado Convention Center"},"content":{"rendered":"
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A sky-high public artwork is ready for its close-up at Colorado Convention Center more than five years after it was approved as part of a $233 million new wing.<\/p>\n

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The $1.8 million piece, \u201cMountains and Rivers Without End,\u201d by California artist Cliff Garten, is a 145-foot-long, mixed-media sculpture suspended about 70 feet above escalators and the ground floor in the western-facing wing. It can now be seen from all levels of the convention center \u2014 including from above on the mezzanine \u2014 and when lit, is visible at night from as far as Speer Boulevard to the west.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a major new addition to Denver\u2019s visual fabric, said Rudi Cerri, the city\u2019s public art manager. And it will be large and distinctive enough to show up in the helicopter shots of the city that run during NFL games and other big events.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve had some issues, because hanging a piece that high above the ground takes awhile to engineer,\u201d Cerri said, noting that the convention center is rarely empty long enough to allow for the installation of an artwork of this size. \u201cBut it really fills the space and adds volume, and it feels wonderful to bring it to life.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe sculpture\u2019s form is based on a scale model of a 120-mile section of the topography of the Rocky Mountains, which can be seen in the distance from the lobby,\u201d according to Garten\u2019s website. \u201cThis landscape is translated into a diaphanous, transparent veil of aluminum topographic lines of mountains and blue, glass rivers moving through the topography.\u201d<\/p>\n

The way the sculpture \u201cengages\u201d light, whether it\u2019s from the western exposure or multi-colored interior lighting that flickers to life at night, creates an ever-changing profile and shadows that mimic the view of the mountains, Cerri said.<\/p>\n

At 145 feet long and 41 feet wide, the piece is massive even by Denver\u2019s larger-than-life public art standards, dwarfing visitors who move underneath it on escalators and on foot. The sculpture joins renowned, sometimes infamous pieces in Denver\u2019s public art collection, including artist Luis Jim\u00e9nez\u2019s 32-foot-tall \u201cMustang\u201d (a.k.a. Blucifer) outside Denver International Airport, and Lawrence Argent\u2019s 40-foot-tall \u201cI See What You Mean\u201d (The Big Blue Bear) on the 14th Street side of the convention center.<\/p>\n

Artist Garten is well known for his monumental, flowing, mixed-media sculptures across the U.S., including at Denver\u2019s National Western Center and elsewhere in Colorado. His 20-foot-long \u201cTaking Stock\u201d bronze sculpture debuted last year at the National Western Complex main campus, just before the 120th anniversary National Western Stock Show.<\/p>\n

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However, \u201cMountains and Rivers Without End\u201d has had no official opening event, and no public-art tours have visited it yet as Denver Arts & Venues officials look for a totally clear weekend. They\u2019re also peering into the future of other projects there with the money left over from the 1% for Art ordinance funding for the new wing.<\/p>\n

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\u201cWe may be starting a new project, but we\u2019ll see,\u201d Cerri said. \u201cIt could be a tapestry or fabric art to soften the space a little more.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMountains and Rivers Without End\u201d was paid for by a Denver municipal ordinance known as the 1% for Art program. Approved by Denver Mayor Mayor Federico Pe\u00f1a in 1988 and Denver City Council in 1991, it directs 1% of any city-funded capital improvement project over $1 million to be available for the inclusion of art, according to Denver Arts & Venues.<\/p>\n

In this case, the cost of the convention center\u2019s new rooftop expansion had already ballooned to $233 million from an original estimate of $104 million, giving Denver Arts & Venues and the selection committee more money to offer artists.<\/p>\n

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Denver\u2019s public art program currently includes more than 400 pieces of art throughout the city and more than 50 projects in progress, Arts & Venues said.<\/p>\n

Work officially began in 2020 when Arts & Venues\u2019 Public Art Program began commissioning new pieces with funds from the convention center\u2019s renovation and construction project, Cerri said. A 14-member panel that included community members, an artist and art professional, and Councilmember Candi CdeBaca, then selected Cliff Garten and Associates Inc., he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have the iconic blue bear on the 14th street side, so we wanted something that would balance it out on the other side of the building,\u201d Cerri said. \u201cI would say 90% of the artwork in the convention center is inspired by a Colorado theme, with mountains and fauna and natural (imagery). This fits in perfectly with that.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Read more Man drowns after raft overturns in Cherry Creek State Park<\/a><\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A major new Denver public art piece debuts with Cliff Garten’s “Mountains and Rivers Without End” at Colorado Convention Center<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2672,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[61,6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2673","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-arts","category-things-to-do"],"yoast_head":"\nMassive, $1.8 million public art piece now glowing from inside Colorado Convention Center - Colorado Springs Moverss<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/?p=2673\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Massive, $1.8 million public art piece now glowing from inside Colorado Convention Center - 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