Challenger - Denton, TX
N 33° 13.346 W 097° 08.214
14S E 673617 N 3677494
"Challenger" is one of four Russ Connell pieces along Carroll Boulevard between Panhandle and Crescent Streets in Denton, TX.
Waymark Code: WM16FJ0
Location: Texas, United States
Date Posted: 07/21/2022
Views: 1
Russ Connell specializes in "softening" hard metal, like steel, into something abstract. He has a design shop in Denton, TX, and many of his works can be found throughout the area. The
City of Denton indicates that this and three other of his works were purchased for $45,450, and their concrete pedestals were put into place in early June of 2022. The sculptures themselves soon followed.
Mr. Connell's Facebook page suggests that the names of his works may be misleading. A September 21, 2020 post about his "Wawoo", in Coppell, describes how it got its name:
I'm really bad about naming pieces until they're finished and installed. Most of the time people think I'm joking if I offer to let them name one. This is Katie and Emily who walked by as I was doing a few touch up spots, their mother told me Katie likes to call it Wawoo after her stuffed giraffe as they do their morning walk.
"Challenger" is the only one of the four pieces bearing the artist's signature, and it is the only one to have been changed from its original color. A photo on Mr. Connell's web page (see above) shows it before it was painted white, so as to be more visible in front of the trees and bushes along Carroll Boulevard. This stainless steel sculpture stands 7' tall.