Fort Worth Public Art - Conservation

Exposure to the elements, including pollution, long term water exposure, dramatic climate changes and graffiti, all have a negative effect on artwork placed outdoors. Fort Worth Public Art is committed to the caring for the Fort Worth Public Art Collection through a Conservation Action Plan. Partnering with certified appraisors and conservators, FWPA assures that each member of the collection is annually inspected and maintained. Major treatments and repairs are conducted as needed and documented throughout the treatment process.

Fort Worth Public Art recently completed a long overdue conservation treatment for the signature sculpture in the City Hall Atrium titled Twelve Triangles Hanging by American artist George Rickey. Through the Fort Worth Public Art Conservation Fund, a comprehensive cleaning and inspection was completed by objects conservator John Dennis on February 16, 2008. Technical and resource information for collections with Rickey sculptures is provided by the Rickey Estate; Mr. Dennis follows guidelines created by the estate for conservation and maintenance treatments.

Following the treatment, Mr. Dennis remarked that he was particularly pleased to see the City of Fort Worth provide maintenance for this important artwork, noting that the natural light in the atrium of the city hall emphasizes dynamic grinding patterns on the surface of the stainless steel form.

Along with Alexander Calder, Rickey is regarded as one of two major 20^th century American sculptors whose works are innately tied to movement. Rickey’s sculptures are noted for their large scale, structural geometry and graceful simplicity. Twelve Triangles Hanging is a beautiful example of the artist’s collaboration with architectural space and available light.

The sculpture is composed of six units of hanging triangles independently suspended on a pair of knife-edged bearings intended to move in a see-saw manner in response to air currents in the atrium. Together the elements measure sixteen feet long end-to-end. The atrium planter beneath the sculpture was originally a refection pond which complimented the play of light and shadow cast from the surface and contributed to the sculptures movement.

A $35,000 grant from the National Endowment for the Arts matched building construction bond funds to purchase the artwork. It was recently appraised for $700,000.

A retrospective of George Rickey’s work can be seen in the fall of 2008 at the McNay Art Museum in San Antonio. Organized by the Vero Beach Museum of Art in celebration of the centennial of the artist’s birth the exhibition features a fifty year survey of fifty-two works from private and public collections.