The Delray Beach Gateway was completed in spring of 2013 by San Antonio artist Michelle Newman. It…read morewas commissioned by the Delray Beach Community Redevelopment Agency to flank the entrance to Delray Beach. This installation was part of the he Downtown Delray Beach Master Plan, adopted March, 19, 2002 which represents the citizens' plan for the unification and future growth of the downtown area. The total cost of the project, was $1,182,842, with the majority paid by the Delray Beach Community Redevelopment Agency and $200,000 paid by the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT). The purpose of the installation is to act as a gateway into downtown Delray Beach. The installation is six, 28 foot high free form pieces that represent the cultural history and natural beauty of Delray Beach. The geometric tiles resembles the mosaic work done by the Seminole Indians. Gladioli represent the long running Gladioli Festival, now called the Delray Affair and the pineapples are a reminder of how important they were to Delray Beach's economy in the pioneer days. Also added to the area as part of the project were sidewalks, landscaped berms, and trellises cascading with bougainvillea. At night the art work is lit up. I have always admired these columns when entering Delray Beach. Usually I am driving by too fast to catch all of the details. It was nice to finally park, walk around, and really look at them. The side walk running past the installation is a nice feature so you can safely walk down and appreciate how large scale these pieces really are.

Endurance is a public art piece located in the West Settlers Historic District in Delray Beach…read more Originally called the sands for it's sandy soil, it was established in 1894 as Delray Beach"s first African American community. Settlers came from north and west Florida, Georgia, and South Carolina in order to work in the agriculture industry. The neighborhood is located from NW 2nd Ave to NE 6th Ave. Houses are in the frame vernacular style, bungalow, and mission revival styles that were popular in the 1920's. The neighborhood was added to the Local Register of Historic Places in 1997. Endurance is a 12 foot steel and glass mosaic public art work created by artist Cheryl Foster and installed in June of 2012 to celebrate this community. It was placed in the West Atlantic Plaza which was renamed in August of 2012 in honor of Elizabeth "Libby" Jackson Wesley, a longtime resident and community activist. On the back of the art piece is Cheryl's mission statement which tells how the piece was inspired by Delray Beach's early Afro American and Caribbean Pioneers who brought their agricultural and fishing skills from their homelands to Delray Beach. The art piece features a woman carrying a basket of harvested food on the left and a man fishing on the right. The piece was paid for by the Delray Beach Community Redevelopment Agency. I discovered this piece while grabbing lunch next door at the Bear Snack Shack. I knew quite a bit about the history of this area and was delighted to discover this piece of art work that celebrates the contributions made by this community of settlers as well as their rich cultural history.

A massive multi-colored mural taking up two side walls of the South County Courthouse visible from…read moreevery driver and pedestrian along Atlantic Ave. The mural is named after an old Delray newspaper and is created by Ralph Gilbert. The mural depicts people, history and industry. Surely one of the more vibrant landmarks in Delray Beach.

This eye-catching painting was created to highlight the neighborhood's multicultural diversity as…read morewell as the bright future that the community's youth can achieve. The mural, titled "Let the Future Unfold," was commissioned by the City of West Palm Beach as part of its Art in Public Places program and created by international artist DAAS. The mural, titled "Let the Future Unfold," depicts a young girl from the Dreher Park area confidently sending a paper plane into flight, according to the artist's description of the work. Bougainvillea, hummingbirds, and a blue heron surround the girl, representing her community, surroundings, heritage, and creativity, he explained. The airplane unfolds and refolds like an origami work as it travels around the tank, eventually returning to the child transformed into a dove. The water tank is 58 feet tall and the mural wraps around the full 78-foot-wide structure. [Review 152 of 2025 - 1939 in Florida - 23718 overall]

While traveling through Palm Beach Gardens, I noticed this interesting sculpture in front of Palm…read moreBeach Gardens Medical Center. Curious, I stopped to check it out. The name of this sculpture is Stent Tower. It was created by nationally recognized artist Mark Fuller, whose work has become somewhat synonymous with Palm Beach Gardens. Fuller is an environmental graphic and industrial designer. He created the glittery butterfly sculpture in Palm Beach Gardens and the obelisk at Legacy Place. He also designed the fish and lizard cutouts on the sound barrier wall along Interstate 95, a children's memorial sculpture at a Burns Road park, and the Fish Out of Water sculpture along the waterfront in West Palm Beach, along with many other pieces throughout Palm Beach County. Stent Tower is a 24-foot-tall sculpture of a heart stent filled with red and white blood cells. A stent is a tiny, expandable mesh tube that a doctor inserts into a clogged or weakened passageway in the body to help keep a vessel open so fluid can flow through it. It is a life-saving medical device frequently placed in arteries to allow blood to flow to the heart. To accurately create this piece, Mark Fuller took a behind-the-scenes tour of Palm Beach Gardens Medical Center. The sculpture was installed in August 2009 and it is a powerful reminder of the lifesaving work being done at this medical center.

Laps is a temporary art installation on the lawn at Old School Square sponsored by the Delray Beach…read moreDowntown Development Authority. There is a garage nearby and some limited street parking. Launched on June 22nd, LAPS consists of six, eight foot high lighted hourglasses that you can spin so the ping pong balls drop through to the other side. "The message of the installation is that because everyone gets to choose the time they want to spend at the exhibit, each is a keeper of their own passage of time." The LAPS exhibit was designed and created in Montreal, Canada in 2022 by Olivier Landreville, with sound and light design by Serge Maheu. Structure and engineering were provided by Maintenance Industries Meca-Fab Inc. The interactive installation is produced by Init and Creos. Prior to being displayed in Delray Beach, it was on exhibit in Montreal, Canada; Des Moines, ID; Ottawa, Canada; and Denver, CO. I love how interactive this art is. You really have to spin the wheel to get them to turn so you get a bit of an arm workout. Come see and play before time runs out on July 30th.

Bear Picnic is a public art installation by artist Diane Arrieta in the City Hall plaza between the…read moreMandel Library and City Hall. Arrieta is a mixed media, visual artist whose work focuses on how humans impact the environment and also on endangered species. All of her work is in yellow and pink. Arrieta was one of eight artists commissioned by the ArtLife WPB Committee to create public art works in the city that have a play theme. When coming up with an idea for her piece, Arrieta was inspired by the humorous "The Bruce the Bear" book by Ryan Higgins. From that initial idea she developed a piece that represents how animals, people, and the environment are all interconnected. The bears were purchased from a company that manufactured them as lawn ornaments. The bright yellow bears and the bubblegum pink baskets on picnic tables look playful but the piece also has a series conservation message. On the tables are printed facts educating the public that six out eight species of the world's bears are threatened with extinction and that habitat fragmentation, growth of cities and farms, logging, climate change, and pollution are all factors that are threatening the bears. Yellow signifies danger but it is also the color of the sun and of hope. The pink of the baskets represents calm. Arrieta hopes that the bears will draw people in and make them want to reconnect with nature. QR codes on the table take you to a conservation site so you can learn more about the bears. I was fortunate to see black bears in the wild in Tennessee so I loved the subject matter of this art piece. Stories of bears getting someone's house, car, or neighborhood are always making the news. As we encroach on their habitat, human and bear interactions become inevitable. This piece made me think about how as humans we are negatively impacting the bears and other animals. Seriousness aside it is also a great backdrop for pictures. I believe this is only a temporary artwork but I would love to see it installed permanently in the city.

Forever and Always was created in 2016 by nationally recognized artist Mark Fuller. Fuller is an…read moreenvironmental graphic and industrial designer. He created the glittery butterfly in Palm Beach Gardens and the obelisk at Legacy Place. He also designed the fish and lizard cutouts on the sound barrier wall along Interstate 95 and the Fish Out of Water sculpture along the water in West Palm Beach. Forever and Always was created for the Compassionate friends Memorial Garden in Palm Beach Garden. The sculpture features two hands in an open position, with the shape of a heart removed from the center of each palm. Between the hands, a heart with wings floats. The sculpture is on a 7 foot tall concrete pedestal. This sculpture is meant to give visitors to the garden a sense of hope and serenity. Fuller said that he designed the hands to be seen as in a praying position or as a gesture of letting go. A loved one's touch stays with someone even as they come to terms with the loss. You can find Forever and Always in the area along the lake near the Burns Road Recreation Center.