Client: Grand Peaks

Overview

For Grand Peaks new development project, Spur at Iliff Station in Aurora, Colorado, Denver based artist Elsa Sroka created an original painting that was translated into a 30’ x 12’ ceramic tile mural on the buildings facade. Sroka’s recent works focus on cows as her subject matter, placing them in unconventional settings; a conscious departure from the traditional context in which cows are depicted in much of western art. Sroka finds the most important element to be the cow’s expression giving her subject a personality to inspire an emotional connection with both the painter and the viewer. Sroka believes the ordinary subject becomes significantly more intriguing when misplaced, inviting the viewer to pay attention through the element of surprise. For this site Sroka created a playful composition of a cow standing in a baby pool with another cow perched atop their back.

Goals

Since this work can be viewed by passing traffic on E Iliff Ave, light rail commuter traffic, pedestrian traffic, as well as residents of Spur at Iliff Station, it was important to have a composition that tells a story and lends a bit of humor to the everyday.

Process

Public Art Services was hired by Grand Peaks to oversee the artist selection process, design coordination, materials research, budget management, engineering coordination and oversight, fabrication oversight, lighting design development, scheduling, and project close-out for this project.