Barbara Grygutis

Sculptor : Barbara Grygutis

Website: www.barbaragrygutis.com

Bio: From the deserts of Israel and Arizona to the US east coast, award-winning public artist Barbara Grygutis has always found inspiration for her art in her environment.

Grygutis was born in Hartford, Connecticut, but was greatly influenced by the ten years of her youth spent in Kfar Shmaryahu, Israel, where her father built and ran a paper mill. Later, surrounded by the confines of suburban city life in New Jersey, Grygutis elected to return to the sights, sounds, smells and feel of the desert to study architecture and studio art at the University of Arizona in Tucson, where she still lives and designs. Since receiving her MFA, Grygutis has consistently created dynamic large-scale public art installations that are often influenced by her experiences with the stark landscape and the clear, arid light of the deserts of the Middle East and Arizona. Her work has been enjoyed by hundreds of thousands from coast to coast and beyond.

Working within the parameters established for a specific project, Grygutis will develop themes and forms derived from the natural world relevant to the site of the piece, further informed by the history and other factors relevant to the setting. For example, Palm Beach’s “Waves” utilizes graceful iridescent arcs that radiate undulating aquamarine colors to mimic the look and feel of an oceanic wave, an important symbol of the connection between seaside cities such as Palm Beach, and the sea.

The smooth sculptural curves of steel create seating, graceful artwork and a window in “Bronx River View”, which graces New York City’s Whitlock Station. The work achieves the goal of creating a dynamic and aesthetically pleasing reminder of the allure of open space and a sense of destination.

Grygutis’ most recent commission, “Desert Passage, Canopy Dreams,” is a 25 foot high, 200 foot long sculptural pedestrian walkway at Chandler-Gilbert Community College in Chandler, AZ. The bridge is an illuminated formal promenade created from a series of graceful arches encircling the pedestrian path. The arches, made from laser-cut aluminum create a pattern replicating the lacy overlay of leaves of the local Ironwood tree, as one would see them while gazing into overhanging branches. The pattern creates a dynamic play between foreground and background, light and shade, solid and immaterial.

Grygutis creates public art installations that enhance the built environment, enable civic interaction, and reveal unspoken relationships about person and place. By identifying meaningful themes, and creating works of art relevant to specific locations or communities, she establishes dynamic and edifying spaces for public use. At the same time, the works break down the distance between viewer and viewed, inviting the spectator to become a participant in the work of art, and to integrate the artwork into his or her life.

Barbara Grygutis has received a multitude of awards and accolades in her 30-plus years as a working artist, which include the Individual Artist’s Fellowship, an Individual Project Design Award from the National Endowment for the Arts; an Individual Artist’s Fellowship from the Arizona Commission on the Arts; the Arizona Artist’s Award from the Tucson Community Foundation; and second prize from the International Quadrennial Competition in Faenza, Italy. Most recently, her “Imaginary Garden” in Cary, North Carolina’s Walnut Street Park received The Clay Brick Paver Award from Hardscape North America and the Best in Class Award from the Brick Industry Association’s Brick in Architecture competition.

Barbara Grygutis has over 75 site-specific, permanent installations in cities including Miami, Florida; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; New York City; Washington DC; Columbus, Ohio; St. Paul, Minnesota; Denver, Colorado; Albuquerque, New Mexico; Phoenix and Tucson, Arizona; Seattle, Washington; and Calgary, Alberta, Canada.  

List of Works By Barbara Grygutis

Seagrass,  2011, Ocean Boulevard median sculptures (Long Beach, California).
Drop, 2010, Prewett Family Park (Antioch, California)
Bronx River View, 2010, MTA sculptural installation (New York City,New York)
Wave, 2009, (Palm Beach County Convention Center, Florida)
Silver Lining, 2009, sculptural pedestrian bridge at Chandler-Gilbert Community College (Arizona)
Imaginary Garden, 2009, 1.2 mile brick promenade for Walnut Street Park (Cary, North Carolina)
The Color of Snow, 2008, facade and two bridge railings,Northwest Crowfoot Light Rail Transit Station (Calgary, Alberta, Canada)
Windswept, 2006, seating at the Central Light Rail Transit Center (Bellevue, Washington)
Luminarias: The Seasons, 2006, Twin Rivers Community Park ( Greeley, Colorado)
Luminarias: Phoenix, 2006, Central Avenue sculptural installation (Phoenix, Arizona)
Universal Signs,2006, Texas Tech University Stadium and residence halls (Lubbock, Texas)
Life Lines, 2006, seating and lighting for SEPTA at Suburban Center(Philadelphia, Pennsylvania)
Bird's Eye View, 2006,  seating  Hayes Mansion Conference Center (San Jose, California)
Rookie Card, 2005, gateway to ballpark (Jacksonville, Florida)
Journeys,2004,New York Avenue Metro Station (Washington, DC)
The Illuminated Page, 2004,Santa Clara Central Library (Santa Clara, California)
Standing Leaves and Falling Light, 2002, Overlake Transit Center (Seattle, Washington)
Common Ground, 2002,Commons Park (Denver, Colorado)
River Run, 2002, Sciatto River Footbridge (Athens, Ohio)
Ocean Motion,1999 (San Diego)
Railgate , 1999, New Jersey Transit Transportation Center (Hamilton, New Jersey)
Front Row Center, 1999, College of Fine Arts, University of Arizona (Tuscon)
Tools for Life, 1997, Police & Fire Training Facility (Tucson, Arizona)
Tribute, 1996, Sculptural bench for Martin Luther King Drive (Chicago, Illinois)
Four Rooms on Siringo, 1996 (Santa Fe, New Mexico)
Portal, 1995, Free Trade Bridge, Los Indios Border Station (Los Indios, Texas)
Garden of Constants , 1994, Ohio State University (Columbus, Ohio)
Earth and Water, 1993, West Fenwick Park and East Hill Park (Kent, Washington)