Foxgloves and Apple Trees + Blackbirds and Gulls
Jean Whitesavage and Nick Lyle
Maleng Regional Justice Center
Sculptural panels filled with images of birds and plants define rotunda guardrails.
A four-story rotunda sits at the center of the Maleng Regional Justice Center, surrounded by windows and flooded with light. On the second and fourth floors, sculptural panels by Jean Whitesavage and Nick Lyle give shape to walkway guardrails and lend meaning to the space, using images of plants and animals to highlight the connections among the world’s systems and patterns. The panels are a reminder about the beauty and complexity of the natural world, offering relief and perspective to staff and visitors.
For the fourth floor’s Blackbirds and Gulls, the artists focused on two types of intelligent and adaptable birds whose behaviors demonstrate both collective and individual identity. The birds are portrayed as flocks in flight to emphasize the airy spaciousness of the rotunda. On the second floor, Foxgloves and Apple Trees nods to the farming history in Kent, where the Justice Center is located. The apple tree images also hint at the symbolism of orchard tree pruning, an art that leads to greater fruit yields; the foxgloves, which are popular locally, were chosen by the artists for their splendor. The design of both pieces has its roots in traditional ironwork.Continue Reading ›
Based on Whidbey Island, WA, Whitesavage and Lyle create sculpture and architectural ironwork for buildings, gardens, parks and other public spaces, in addition to smaller interior pieces. They have completed dozens of public art commissions since they began collaborating in 1991 and continue to work both together and independently. Other 4Culture projects include Rainforest Gates at King Street Center in Seattle.
About the Location
Maleng Regional Justice Center
The Maleng Regional Justice Center in Kent, WA, contains one of the most significant collections of public artwork ever commissioned by King County for a single facility. The collection includes architecturally integrated and site-specific installations as well as many diverse portable artworks— drawings, paintings, photographs, and prints—created especially for the site by Northwest artists. Beginning…
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