Untitled by Wilbert Verhelst - Denver, CO
Posted by: Outspoken1
N 39° 42.719 W 104° 56.413
13S E 505124 N 4395792
Untitled sculpture by Wilbert Verhelst
Waymark Code: WM2Y4E
Location: Colorado, United States
Date Posted: 01/08/2008
Views: 50
This is one of several sculptures displayed in the D.C. Burns Park at the intersection of Alameda and Colorado Blvd. I have always enjoyed this sculptures as I drove by, but never took the time to stop at the park. There is a small parking area at N39° 42.710, W104 56.397° that can only be accessed going west on Alameda.
The sculpture was created as part of the June 1968 Denver Sculpture Symposium, in which nine artists took part. The symposium was sponsored by a non-profit organization "Art For The Cities, Inc.," and the artists were paid moderate fees for their work, with materials donated by local and national sources. The sculptures were donated to the City in August of 1968. The sculptures were originally intended to only be temporary. Of nine of the original sculptures, four remain. The fiberglass was added in 1975 to protect the wood surface of the sculpture from further weathering.
Mr. Verhelst says about his work, "My career as a sculptor might best be characterized as a continuous search for non-objective personal imagery that reaches beyond that which is verbal and knowable. To somehow touch on an archetypal silent language that belongs and exists within the depths of our feelings. It might best be described as reaching that special moment and feeling we might well experience with the sunrise and smell of that first spring morning, the sound of a great symphony or hidden meaning in exceptional poetry.
The forms I use are derived from that which we are capable of conceiving in our minds and the feelings we find and experience in the magnificence of nature. Since the early spires in my sculpture, my visual vocabulary has slowly grown more complex. Subtle changes occur as I continue to grow in thoughts and feelings. This is usually the result of periods of experimentation with smaller works in my studio. However, the concepts are usually continued and find ultimate resolution in large-scale temporary or permanent works." (www.dallasartsrevue.com/members/V/Lecky-Verhelst/Verhelst.shtml)