The City of Lee’s Summit’s Cultural Commission is seeking to commission a professional visual artist or artist team to create an outdoor site-specific or site-responsive art piece that will serve as an iconic beacon for the Downtown Market Plaza. The art piece will be installed at the primary southern entrance to the Downtown Market Plaza, a highly visible location to pedestrians and vehicular traffic. We are thrilled to unveil the final five concepts for our Downtown Market Plaza Gateway/Entryway Public Art call. Proposals from James Dinh and Michael Stutz, Carol May and John Frazen, Peter Reiquam, Chris Rench and Heath Satow have been selected as the leading contenders for this permanent public art installation.
Seattle-based artist Peter Reiquam creates imaginative and interactive sculptures for public spaces. Reiquam earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from the University of Washington in Seattle and a Master of Fine Arts in sculpture from Yale University in Connecticut. His work showcases the site's uniqueness and with 40 years of experience, is built to be durable, well-crafted and meaningful.
"I enjoy the process of learning about a new place. The people, environment, culture and history all play a role in the development of a unique artistic response that tells a story about why this place is special."
Peter Reiquam
The proposed sculpture, a stylized blue jay, will serve as an iconic site marker at the plaza entry and a welcoming mascot for the site. The stylized blue jay will delight visitors and encourage playful interaction. The angular, abstracted planes of the bird's body relate to the mathematical geometry of the surrounding architecture – an organic form rendered as a geometric object. In-ground LED lights will illuminate the sculpture after dark creating a beacon at the entry to the plaza.
The market itself is the inspiration. A place where people will go to find the freshest, most nutritious ingredients to feed their families and friends. The blue jay represents nature and is well-adapted to the urban environment. It depicts a clever creature who forages for its food just as humans gather fruits, vegetables, nuts and seeds along with other delicious offerings from the market.
Dimensions: 5 - 6 feet tall and about 8 feet from tip to tip.
From Southern California, James Dihn and Michael Stutz, with over two decades of combined experience in public art, come together as Studiofolia. Their collaborative practice is fueled by their unique backgrounds. Dihn is in landscape architecture and public art while Stutz is a celebrated sculptor. Through their artwork, they aim to strengthen the bonds between individuals and their communities.
Studiofolia
The endearing phrase “apple of my eye” refers to something or someone we cherish and love above all others. The proposed design is a play on this phrase. Woven from ribbons of stainless steel, the sculpture is a representation of a larger-than-life golden apple.
Looking from the street side, the sculpture’s shape is also reminiscent of a heart and at night the sculpture will have a flowing lantern effect from an uplight within the sculpture.
The apple is a quintessentially American fruit. As the second largest apple producer in the world, the U.S. grows over 200 varieties, which truly reflect our cultural diversity as a country. The apple sculpture will allude to Lee’s Summit’s history and honor today’s local farmers who carry on the area’s agricultural heritage. The apple will evoke associations with childhood, home and comfort. It’s a reminder of tradition, family and wholesomeness.
The area around Lee’s Summit was once the center of Missouri’s apple belt and agriculture was the foundation of the community’s early prosperity. The area's evolution from farmland and orchards to a thriving city is a story about the evolving American dream. Inspired by the city’s history of farming, notably apple farming, the proposed artwork is envisioned as an iconic, interactive centerpiece that will welcome people of all backgrounds to the Downtown Market Plaza. The artwork weaves together a narrative of Lee’s Summit’s past, present and future.
Dimensions: 7 feet tall and 1/8 inches thick of stainless steel for woven parts; 1/2 inches thick of stainless steel for base plate.
Based in Oregon, Rench crafts large-scale abstract works characterized by their singular style and design. One of his public pieces included a skateable feature for the community of Seattle, Wa. Rench has over 30 years of experience in both design and fabrication. He aims to create sculptures that are welcoming and uplifting, fostering a sense of wonder for everyone, regardless of age.
Chris Rench
Confluence of Cultures, with its four large stainless-steel forms, grows and reaches toward the sky. Each form is textured to create reflections like water with large red orbs flowing, growing and extending out of the forms to symbolize the creation of something wonderful and colorful. A nod to farming in a timeless contemporary sculpture.
This permanent addition adds an iconic landmark for visitors to view while passing by but also offers the ability to walk through the pieces and shadows for an artistic experience.
This contemporary work of art is striking when viewed from a distance, yet intrigues viewers to stop and explore with a closer look. The viewer will encounter multiple shadows and gathering spaces within this larger-than-life sculpture.
Connecting Roots and Growing
The approach of this piece was to pay tribute to the various cultures and all the lakes and water around the area coming together to create Lee's Summit. Like the farmers market and area, Lee's Summit is constantly growing, the various cultures of people coming to Lee's Summit are one of the many things that make the area so unique and will keep it strong and resilient. All of this combined like Confluence of Cultures creates something unique and timeless. This colorful, creative sculpture gives a nod to all the cultural growth of Lee's Summit's past, present and future.
Dimensions: 15 - 18 feet tall and 8 - 10 feet in circumference
Thrive has three large colorful leaves reaching towards the sky. Flowing glass forms are attached in offset positions to increase the scale of the artwork and fill the site. Colors symbolize the vegetables, fruit and water of growing crops. This permanent addition adds an iconic landmark for visitors to view while passing by and offers the ability to walk through pieces and shadows for an artistic experience.
This contemporary work of art is striking when viewed from a distance, yet intrigues viewers to stop and explore with a closer look. The viewer will encounter multiple seating and gathering spaces within this larger-than-life sculpture.
Growth and Farming
The history of Lee's Summit and the surrounding area has always been based on growing farming and agriculture. From the Osage Natives planting in the area to today's farmers, growers and orchards providing food for the masses or specialty fruit and veggies for the Saturday market. Lee's Summit continues to grow! The colorful creative sculpture gives a nod to all the farmers, growers, orchards and growth of Lee's Summit past, present and future.
My approach to this piece was to pay tribute to everything and everyone who participates in growing in Lee's Summit and the connection to the farmers market. Every crop grown in nature starts with a bud, then a leaf and morphs into something colorful. Our communities are no different. Everything starts with an idea or leaf and in time with nourishment grows into something bigger.
Dimensions: 20 - 25 feet tall and 8 - 10 feet in circumference
New York's May + Watkins Design, led by Carol May and John Franzen, brings functional public art to life. May's five decades of expertise in public art creates transformative works for public spaces, children's museums and playgrounds. Backed by a team of skilled fabricators and designers, May + Watkins Design crafts unique and vibrant pieces of art.
May + Watkins Design
Abundance was approached with a family audience in mind. It will be inviting and engaging for children and people from all walks of life. Visitors will be able to walk around and through the piece. A stem and bud will extend overhead and touch the ground to create a six-foot-high walk-through arch. Mosaic elements will provide a tactile and visual experience. Visitors can follow and touch the mosaic patterns and sit on the two mosaic spheres. The colorful rolling forms above will create an attractive display and provide a focus for the line of shaded arches.
Lee’s Summit is surrounded by orchards and farmland. The market provides an abundance of food. This concept reflects this bounty, vines twist, turn and flower. Large leaves encrusted with mosaics provide form and shelter. There is a profusion of life, growth and joy.
Stainless Steel: We will be using primarily schedule 40 pipe ranging in size from 3 inches to 1 inch and 16 gauge plate. These materials will be bent or rolled and welded at our shop. We use a 308 all-purpose welding wire for all ss welding. The metalwork will be coated with Sherwin Williams Polyurethane by CTI Composite Technology and Infrastructure in Coeymans, NY.
Concrete and Mosaic Tile: The four concrete/mosaic tile elements will each have a stainless steel armature to support the base concrete. We use concrete pigments so that the color is intrinsic. These elements will be coated with a sealer.
Durability: 304 stainless is a durable material with a life expectancy of 50 - 100 years or longer.
Lighting: We plan to use commercial, outdoor Color-Changing LED Well Lights to be housed in the plinth. These will create an uplit dance of intertwined lines of swirling pipe at night.
Dimensions: 17.4 feet tall and 14.4 feet wide
Based in Utah, Satow creates iconic works of art that engage with audiences. Using mirror-polished stainless steel, Satow considers the changes in natural light and the reflection of change through daily life. The intricate play of light and shadow on his work transforms the viewer's perspective.
With 35 years under his belt creating public art, Satow has honed a talent for crafting works that seamlessly integrate with their surroundings and resonate with the community. Accessibility and interactivity are cornerstones of his design process.
Heath Satow
Remember the joy of playing in a pile of fall leaves? The crisp air was filled with laughter as vibrant red, yellow and orange leaves were tossed into the sky. Or the simple delight of watching sugar maple seeds, like tiny helicopters, whirling down from the trees, carrying the promise of growth and new beginnings.
At the heart of the newly developed Downtown Market Plaza in Lee’s Summit, Everything Changes With a Dream will stand as an iconic beacon of community, growth and transformation. This stainless steel interpretation of a sugar maple seed pod captures the essence of the city’s vibrant spirit and the community’s investment in creating a lasting, cherished space.
The sculpture serves as an anchor and wayfinding landmark, inviting visitors to “meet me at the Market, by the Seed.” From grandparents to kids, it establishes a generational connection and a sense of belonging. Located at the main entrance of the plaza, across from City Hall, it signifies the intersection of civic pride and community engagement.
Everything Changes With a Dream is a sculpture depicting a samara (aka “helicopter seed”) of a Missouri native sugar maple. The sugar maple is renowned for its stunning fall colors and its role in producing maple syrup, symbolizing both beauty and utility.
The sculpture begins with the rounded seed portion on the ground, representing the solid foundation and growth of the community. This section features solid stainless steel that frames semi-translucent color panels, illuminated from within to create a warm glow during evenings at the market. The color panels are frosted on the inside to evenly transmit the internal lights and hide the engineered structure and connection to the foundation.
The sculpture’s wing extends vertically towards the sky, transitioning from a solid to a lace-like appearance. This design element highlights the delicate beauty and potential of the samara. The panels shift in color from shades of green at the seed base, reaching towards the top of the wing with a wash of yellow, orange and jewel-like red on transparent panels; symbolizing the magnificent fall color display of the sugar maple.
Dimensions: 13.4 feet tall by 4.3 feet wide and 2 feet by 2 feet deep.