Public Art Works 1978 - 2012

Spring by Ray Katz

Spring was created by Michigan sculptor Ray Katz and installed on Monday, November 19, 2012 on the Skokie Valley Trail north of Niles Center Road.  Spring is approximately 18' tall and constructed of fabricated and bolted painted steel.

Katz passion for sculpture began during his development as an artist. His sculptures are abstract. The manipulation of form in space creates visual balance using rhythm, action and movement. Katz then creates compositions that convey the implied energy found in his works.

Spring is located at Skokie Valley Trail north of Niles Center Road.

Spring

Image of red, yellow, blue, and green metal abstract sculpture in a median

Burst

Image of metal abstract sculpture beside a roadway

Burst Dusty Folwarczny


Burst was created by Chicago sculptor Dusty Folwarczny and installed on Wednesday, October 17, 2012 on the Skokie Valley Trail near the entrance to the Dempster Street CTA Yellow Line Station. Burst is approximately 8 feet tall and made of salvaged steel.

Burst is a part of a series of reconstructed pillars, responding to the vertical appeal of the city. In Burst, Dusty explores the tension between heavy metal and gravity, exposing the raw aesthetic of rust.

Burst was constructed in 2011 for the Chicago Lakefront Sculpture Exhibit. The piece was then on display in Oak Park, Illinois as a part of the annual Oak Park Sculpture Walk.

Burst is located at Skokie Valley Trail at Dempster Street CTA Station.

Stele LXVIII Clyde Lynds

Stele LXVII, Dogon was created by New York based sculptor Clyde Lynds and installed on Tuesday, October 2, 2012 at the municipal parking lot at Lincoln Avenue and Warren Street in Downtown Skokie.  Stele LXVII, Dogon is approximately 95 inches tall and is made of carved concrete and fiber optics on an aluminum base.  The fiber optics are constantly changing colors and color patterns.

Throughout Clyde Lynds' career he has created a number of public art pieces throughout the state of New Jersey, New York and all over the northeast.

Read a statement by sculptor Clyde Lynds (PDF).

Stele LXVIII

Image of abstract obelisk beside a parking lot

Luminescence

Image of metal abstract sculpture in a median

Luminescene by David Noguchi

Luminescence was created by Chicago sculptor David Noguchi in 2009 for the Chicago Lakefront Sculpture Exhibit, where it was exhibited at the intersection of Halsted, Lincoln and Fullerton.  Made of stainless steel and standing 18 feet tall, Luminescence was installed at the Skokie Valley Trail at Searle Parkway (near the Illinois Science + Technology Park) on Tuesday, September 25, 2012.

Luminescence is a torch that surprises the viewer with its ability to change position and offer itself in a different light. The commanding size and assumed weight of the flame surprises the viewer by the ease with which it moves. A realization takes hold that the curves within the steel were created for their reflective quality and for their ability to catch a breeze. Once that happens, the viewer is hooked and the intricacies of the work are a joy to behold.

Luminescene is located at Skokie Valley Trail at Searle Parkway.

Everreel by Evan Lewis

EVERREEL was installed at the new Oakton-Skokie CTA station (northwest corner of Skokie Boulevard and Searle Parkway) on Wednesday, June 20, 2012. The sculpture was formally dedicated at the Community Celebration on Sunday, June 24, 2012.

The Village of Skokie's Public Arts Advisory Committee (PAAC) commissioned Chicago based sculptor Evan Lewis to create the stainless steel piece.  The name EVERREEL is a play on words that references the sculpture being almost constantly in motion.

Lewis has been producing and exhibiting outdoor kinetic wind sculptures since 1984. Lewis' work to create kinetic wind sculptures have been commissioned in locations such as Chicago, Illinois, Toledo, Ohio, Phoenix, Arizona, Denver, Colorado and Chattanooga, Tennessee to name a few.

Everreel is located at Oakton-Skokie CTA Station, northwest corner of Skokie Boulevard and Searle Parkway.

EVEREEL

Image of metal abstract sculpture in a parking lot area

Sunshang

Image of metal abstract sculpture in a park

Sunshang by Courtney Williams

Shang Sun by Courtney Williams was generously donated to the Village for its Public Arts Collection by the Skokie North Shore Sculpture Park.  The sculpture was restored and installed at "Car Wash Park" on Gross Point Road north of Dempster Street on Friday, September 30, 2011.

Sunshang is located at "Car Wash Park", Gross Point Road north of Dempster Street.

French Kiss by Ron Gard

French Kiss by Ron Gard was installed on Friday, September 23, 2011 at the northeast corner of Lamon and Louise Avenue.  Before being purchased for the Skokie Public Arts Collection, French Kiss was exhibited at the Skokie North Shore Sculpture Park from 2009 to 2011 and was awarded the Lewis C. Weinberg Memorial Biennial Competition.

French Kiss is located at the Northeast Corner of Lamon Avenue and Louise Avenue.

French Kiss

Image of metal abstract sculpture in a park

The Glowing of Such Fire

Image of a red abstract metal sculpture in a park

The Glowing of Such Fire by Richard Taylor

The first sculpture chosen and purchased by the Village of Skokie PAAC is The Glowing of Such Fire by Richard Taylor.

The sculpture was installed on Tuesday, October 21, 2008 in the Village Green, located between Skokie Village Hall (5127 Oakton Street) and the Skokie Public Library (5215 Oakton Street).

The Glowing of Such Fire is located at:
Village Green
5155 Oakton Street
Skokie, IL 60077

Gourd Man

image of gourd shaped heads in a stack, metal sculpture

Gourd Man by Shencheng Xu

The second sculpture chosen and purchased by the Village of Skokie PAAC is Gourd Man by Shencheng Xu.

The sculpture was installed in late-April, 2009 in the Village Green, located between Skokie Village Hall (5127 Oakton Street) and the Skokie Public Library (5215 Oakton Street).

Gourd Man is located at:
Village Green
5155 Oakton Street
Skokie, IL 60077

Skokie Light Sculpture John David Mooney

The Village of Skokie Fine Arts Commission commissioned the Skokie Light Sculpture from artist John David Mooney in 1976. The sculpture was dedicated on September 24, 1978.  SkokieLight was the Village's first piece of commissioned public art.

The sculpture is approximately 20 feet tall, made of steel and glows red and blue. The internal lighting of the sculpture was first accomplished with neon lights and in 2000 was replaced with fiber optics. As lighting technology advanced the lighting components were upgraded to LED in July 2012.

Mooney is an internationally recognized artist for his large-scale, public sculptures that have been showcased from Chicago to Australia to the Vatican Observatory at Castel Gandolfo, Italy.

The Skokie Light Sculpture is located at:
Village Green
5155 Oakton Street
Skokie, IL 60077

Skokie Light Sculpture

Image of a metal and light square sculpture outdoors