This iconic fibreglass sculpture by well-known local sculptor, Robert Dow Reid has become a symbol for the city and is prominently featured in many tourism publications. Known locally as simply The Sails, the work is 12m high, and weighs approximately 1,820 kilograms.
Bear is a tribute to Kelowna’s settlement on the shores of Okanagan Lake. The theme of the artwork is a grizzly bear, “Kelowna” being an English translation of the Okanagan / Syilx First Nation word for “grizzly bear”. A steel frame in the shape of a grizzly bear encloses symbols that represent periods of Kelowna’s history. The boat-like shape at the base is a reference to the role the lake has played in the evolution of the community and the shaping of its identity.
William Andrew Cecil Bennett, a Kelowna resident, was British Columbia's longest-serving premier. The 20 spires on the tower represent Bennett's 20 years as premier, and 7 steps on either side of the clock represent the number of terms in office. Other features of the courtyard include a 10.7 m high carillon clock, with each of the four faces measuring approximately 1.8 m in diameter.
Two dancers balanced in space capture the signature movements of ballet and modern dance. Commissioned by the developer of The Madison residential tower.
Natural Language consists of 2 works: a functional spiral bench and a rotating 3.7m tall mobius, both made of cast stainless steel.
This pair of cast bronze works is described by the artist as “…2 abstract figures, a child and an adult, playfully dancing…on a downtown street.” The work celebrates human movement and interaction at a key intersection along Kelowna’s “Main Street”.
This whimsical tribute to Kelowna's agricultural history consists of 7 concrete and terrazzo fruit forms on 5 benches, accompanied by mosaics of vintage fruit box labels from the 1930's and 1940's. The halved fruit pieces reveal an inner terrazzo face and all of the fruit sculptures offer botanically-accurate details in their seeds, pits and leaves. The forms evoke the bold eroticism of fruit and celebrate its formal beauty. They also make playful reference to the oversized roadside “folk art’ found across North America.
These 3 wooden obelisks are connected by a sweeping stainless steel arc and topped by bronze sculptures representing the flow of creativity from an idea to a fully realized work. The various elements of the piece are a physical manifestation of the scientific premise that all activity and creativity stem from within the brain. Philip Bews shaped 3 Western Red Cedar logs into tapered obelisks and with assistance from Haida carver Jonathan Yeltatzie added low relief carving on the lower sections of the four faces.
Monumental fibreglass dolphins play in a large fountain.
This sculpture and plaza were a joint project between the developer of the Grand Okanagan Hotel and the City of Kelowna.