Elemental

The Work

This life-sized bronze sculpture of a working man at rest was funded by Culos Construction. Check out the interesting details such as the toolbox, hardhat, and the gloves in his back pocket.

The Project

A $2,500 competition invited artists to create a design for tree grates to be installed within Kelowna’s Downtown Urban Centre. Due to the complexities of metal fabrication, the artists were invited to meet beforehand with the pattern maker from the foundry in Penticton to review the casting process and its potential implications for the design process.

In October 2000, a hand-drawn graphic by local artist Crystal Przybille was chosen by an evaluation panel from among 7 submissions. Mayor Walter Gray officially dedicated the Elemental design in November 2002, in conjunction with the official opening of the Rotary Centre for the Arts.

The Artist

Born in Vernon, B.C., Crystal Przybille holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree with Distinction from the University of Victoria. She has participated in solo and group exhibitions in British Columbia, Quebec and the Netherlands, and has completed artist residencies in the Netherlands and Nunavut. Other works by Crystal in Kelowna’s Public Art Collection include Illuminature and the Father Pandosy Mission 150th Anniversary Commemorative Sculpture.

Viewing

The work is a series of tree grates installed at various locations throughout Kelowna ‘s Downtown and Cultural District. They can be found along: Cawston Avenue between Water Street and Ellis Street, the west side of Richter Street between Bernard Avenue and Harvey Avenue the west side of Water Street between Lawrence Avenue and Harvey Avenue,Water Street in the Abbott Street Heritage Conservation Area (south of Harvey Avenue).