An 18-foot-tall stainless steel and bronze sculpture, “Mockingbird Tree” by Little Rock sculptor Michael Warrick, will be installed Thursday morning at Chenal Parkway and Chenal Valley Drive.
The latest public sculpture is a joint project of the city, Deltic Timber (developer of Chenal Valley) and the Sculpture at the River Market organization. Warricdk won the 2015 competition of the River Market Public Art Monument Commission and a $60,000 commission. It’s the fifth sculpture to be placed around the city as a result of the competition.
Our arts writer, Leslie Newell Peacock, singled Warrick’s work out in advance of the 2015 competition. She quoted him then:
This is a celebration of Arkansas’ state bird and one of its most prominent natural resources. My concept is playfully illustrated in a childlike fashion with bubble forms for foliage plus a pair of Arkansas’ state birds.
The city Board recently adopted an ordinance clearing the way for Deltic to put as many as three sculptures in the right of way of the Chenal Parkway, Rahling Road and Chenonceau Boulevard.