(Vail, CO) – Art in Public Places (AIPP) is pleased to announce new murals by artists Olive Moya and the collective duo Pedro Barrios and Jaime Molina, as well as Ben Roth’s large-scale interactive installation at Stephens Park Playground for the community to enjoy this summer.
OLIVE MOYA Mrs. Charles in the Sun (Ice Bar at Mid-Vail late 1960s), Vail Village Transportation Center P3 by La Cantina
Olive Moya combines a wheat pasting application with her signature vibrant palette and bold brushwork in the large interior mural now on view at the Vail Village Transportation Center. The installation combines glimpses of Vail’s past complemented with her contemporary style as it moves down the stairs and out to the main entrance of Vail Village.
Moya, a Denver based artist, selected a candid photograph of the short-lived iconic Ice Bar at Mid-Vail, along with a more polished promotional image of the Vail gondola. The images which were sourced by the Colorado Snowsports Museum, both date from the late-1960s. First, she enlarged the images and adhered them to the walls, later adding her playful pigment. Each color and gesture are thoughtfully considered by the artist bringing a cohesion between the past with the present. She highlights such items which may go unnoticed like the shovel or the cup on the table at the ice bar or even delineating the gondola cables with her bold patterning.
Originally from Southern California, Moya received her BFA from Otis College of Art and Design in Los Angeles. Moya’s talent in typography was noticed and she was offered a mural project at Huckleberry Roasters which resulted with several other mural commissions. It was recently announced that Olive Moya, partnering with Emily Hope Dobkin were selected to create a prominent mural at the Denver Art Museum’s new Martin Building this Fall.
PEDRO BARRIOS & JAIME MOLINA (AKA THE WORST CREW), A continuation of their 2019 Lionshead Parking Structure Mural, Dobson Ice Arena five ventilation stacks west of the complex
This month street art muralists Pedro Barrios and Jaime Molina return to Vail to transform five large cylindrical vents west of Dobson Ice Arena. In their 2019 Lionshead mural, Valley Threnody, two faces are surrounded by a vibrant palette of abstraction, connecting them by the layers of this colorful quilt. The figures, whose identity is left open for interpretation, may represent family members, friends, ancestors, or even strangers. Regardless of their relationship, the artists convey we are all connected by the commonality of humankind in their mural. Inspired by the positive reactions while creating this mural, the artists presented a similar concept for the five vents creating a sense of family.
Complementing each other’s style by infusing abstract forms with the figurative, the Denver-based artists began working as a collaborative in 2012. With the successful outcome, they decided to continue working together on painting murals. Their murals’ vibrant color palette and story-telling qualities are recognizable throughout the Denver Metro area, including a work commissioned by the Denver Art Museum.
BEN ROTH Knee-high to a Grasshopper, Stephens Park Playground, West Vail
Ben Roth’s artistic creations have been enjoyed in Vail for a decade. The Jackson based artist has a talent for working in a variety of mediums from beetle killed felled lodgepole to sculping hard wired mesh screens. AIPP was pleased to bring his work back in a permanent and interactive play-based environment. 20 verdant horsetail grass plants created in steel are thoughtfully installed throughout the playground area.
“Our goal for the playground was a supersized riparian environment. As kids climb the stump and look up at the horsetail grass they get the perspective of a riverbank’s smaller creatures. To accomplish this effect, I had to build the horsetail grass to be strong yet organic and growing. This was a tricky project because I had to take a relatively simple plant and make it pop,” explains Roth. “There was a level of nervous anticipation during installation because I had not seen the sculpture put together until that day but it was fun to rotate each reed as we put them together to shape the negative (blue sky) space around them.”
Stephens Park is the tenth playground created by the Town of Vail Design Team in collaboration with an artist creating a unique play environment.
WEDNESDAY ART WALKS – JULY 7 THROUGH SEPTEMBER 1, 2021 @ 11 A.M., FREE
Meet at the Vail Village Welcome Center
(Subject to cancellation. Tour will adhere to current local health guidelines.)
Enjoy a free one-hour public art tour of Vail each Wednesday of the month July 7 through September 1. Meet at 11:00 a.m. at the Vail Village Welcome Center on the top level of the Vail Village parking structure. The tour winds its way through the Village with discussions of the history of the Vail Valley, the founding of Vail mountain, the master planning of the Village, and the importance of site-specific art. The Town of Vail’s public art collection includes over 60 works of art.
Enjoy a virtual tour of the collection on an interactive map visit:
http://www.artinvail.com/Collection/Interactive-Map.
A printed map of the Town of Vail’s public art collection map is available at the Vail Village and Lionshead Welcome Centers. The map features 36 works of art in a walking area of Vail Village and Lionshead, as well as the public art beyond town center.
For more information visit www.artinvail.com or contact Molly Eppard, Art in Public Places: meppard@vailgov.com or 970-479-2344.