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Xanadu Secures Major Public Art Commission for Haiying Wu

On August 11, 2009, the city council of Glendale, Arizona, voted unanimously to approve a major sculpture commission by Xanadu artist Haiying Wu. The $200,000 project consists of a 7 figure memorial to Glendale public safety officers who have given their lives in the service of their community.

Xanadu submitted Wu's qualifications for the Glendale project in the fall of 2007 after a call for art was issued by the city. Wu was selected as one of three finalists for the project and invited to Glendale to make a proposal for the project.

After several presentations to a specially-commissioned art selection committee, Wu was selected to create the sculpture and the proposal was forwarded through the Glendale police department to the city council.

Wu, who divides his time between a studio in Washington State and Chengdu, Sichuan Province, China, where he also maintains a studio, is no stranger to public art. Wu has created installations for public placement throughout the U.S., including a number of public safety related memorials. This sculpture will mark the second project in the City of Glendale, where Wu also placed a fire-fighting sculpture in the early 2000's.

In the fall of 2008, the new Glendale project was placed on hold as the city dealt with budget issues related to the global economic crisis. At the time it was unclear when the project would resume, if at all. Xanadu continued to push for the project by keeping in constant communication with the art selection committee and the Glendale Public Art Commission.

"Those were challenging months," says Xanadu owner, Jason Horejs. "We were concerned that even though the project was fully funded, the economic situation might force the city to re-allocate funding to meet their fiscal needs."

Glendale Firefighter and Police Sculpture by Haiying Wu

Early this spring word came that the project was to move forward again. Final adjustments were made to the artist's plans, including modifications to the design of the sculpture at the request of the selection committee. Chief Steven Conrad, Glendale Police department chief, presented the proposal to the city council, which approved the project on a preliminary basis. A contract was then written by the city attorney's office and issued in July.

Upon review, Xanadu requested minor changes to the contract, forwarded it to Wu for signatures and set about meeting all of the insurance requirements for the project.

"The public art process is both rewarding, and challenging," says Horejs. "Not every artist can navigate the procedures and deal with the difficulties related to helping an art selection committee arrive at a consensus. Haiying has the perfect attitude. He enjoys coming up with a spectacular concept and then working with the committee to incorporate their ideas, while maintaining the integrity of his vision."

The Glendale Public Safety Memorial is scheduled for completion in the Spring of 2010.

Geology Y & Z by Linza.
$990 Each
Purchased by Mr. William L., Chicago, IL

Raku Appaloosa by Tammy Bality
Purchased by Deborah M., Rocky Point, NC

Ghosts of our Fathers by Ron Garrison
$6,200
Mr. & Mrs. Harold H., Chicago, IL

Blue Pietersite/Sterling Silver Pendant Set by Mary Mauritzen
Private Collectors, San Diego, CA

Note from Jason

New Arrivals

In spite of the heat, it's been an incredibly busy summer at Xanadu. Though traffic certainly drops off dramatically as the temperature rises, the summer provides the gallery time to follow up with past clients and prepare for the coming art season.

This summer has also been filled with a couple of projects I am excited to have completed. In August my book, "Starving" to Successful was published and sold out its first printing in just a few weeks. The book was written as a guide to artists to help them understand how to navigate the gallery-artist relationship and how to build a more successful career. Based on a lecture series I began developing last year, "Starving" to Successful offers concrete steps an artist can take to become more organized and professional. The book also helps them understand what galleries are looking for and how they operate.

"Starving" to Successful by Jason Horejs

Amazingly, there seems to be very little information available to the artist who wants to work with galleries. I am excited to help fill that void.

Visit the book's page on the Xanadu website when you get a chance: www.xanadugallery.com/book.

We have also signed a contract for a major art commission with the City of Glendale for their Public Safety Memorial.

Watch your inbox for new art from Xanadu artists as we enter the new season. We will be bringing in exciting new artists and featuring Xanadu favorites in upcoming shows. I look forward to seeing you soon!

Damaged

by Michaela Poepping

After Work

by Steve Horan

Chameleon

by Kim Winberry

Featured Artist: Joan Marie Collins

Joan Maureen Collins, Abstract Paintings

It was a day trip along the East Coast from Salem to Rockport, Massachusetts and a drugstore watercolor palette that began a new form of expression for Joan. The soft palette of watercolor provided a welcomed contrast to her rigorous career serving industry with a marketing and international business degree from The Ohio State University. Since that drive along the coast, Joan has combined her passion for travel and expression through art. She has painted ancient ruins along the Aegean, Black Sea and Western Mediterranean coasts, green canals of Venice, colorful sarongs reflecting waves in Hawaii, and the pastoral mohers of Ireland at dusk.

When not traveling, it is her vivid dreams that inspire. Joan's artwork is often inspired from within through her dreams and visions. These works typically represent the celebration of life in figurative and natural forms. Though watercolor is her primary medium, she also paints in acrylics to bring in sharp and intense hues. She has also completed course work in sculpture of which she has shown and sold one-of-a-kind works in stone and bronze.

She opens her studio, annually for the Hidden in the Hills Studio Tour in Cave Creek, Arizona and her art is shown in such galleries as Uncubed Art Space (UN3) and other venues through-out Arizona. Her studio is named Dubh Cnock Studio, which means Black Mountain in Gaelic, a reflection of the artist's family roots in Ireland. The studio is surrounded by 2 acres of Sonoran desert at the foot of Black Mountain, where inspiration for her art fuses with earth, water and sky.