“Oasis,” to be one of priciest public art pieces in Orange County, is partially completed on Imperial Highway in Brea.
The roughly $2.5million sculpture is a tribute to the city’s oil history with kinetic elements that mimic the grasshopper oil pumps that are still in the hills today. The curved placement of some of the elements pays homage the William Pereira-designed Hartley Center that was part of Unocal’s Brea campus, the artists have said. The building, popular with the community, was razed in 2005 to make way for future development.
La Floresta – a development of 1,100 residential units, parks and a shopping center on 211 acres of Chevron-owned land – was required to fund the art per the city law requiring any development more than $1.5million to allocate 1percent of the total value to public art.
Douglas Hollis, a prolific artist, and his late wife, Anna Valentina Murch, created the masterpiece.
Hollis is known for “A Sound Garden,” 12 steel towers with organ pipes that produce sounds when the wind blows, at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in Seattle. The ’80s grunge band Soundgarden reportedly is named after the iconic sculpture.
The couple worked together on “Waterscape” at the San Jose Civic Center and “Once Upon a Time in Fresno” at the Fresno Federal Courthouse.
“Oasis,” which will be completed early next year, anchors the corner of Imperial Highway and Valencia Avenue in the 87,000-square-foot La Floresta Village shopping center.
The shopping center, set to open in early 2016, will include a Whole Foods, Urban Plates, Orange Theory Fitness, 20 Lounge salon and spa and a Jimmy’s Famous American Tavern, the latter by well-known O.C. restauranteur David Wilhelm, according to Regency Centers, which owns and is developing the center.
The sculpture is meant to be the focal point of the retail center – both Whole Foods and restaurants will have patio dining that opens up to “Oasis.”
“Retail shopping centers are going through a lot of changes these days – it’s becoming much more about the experience,” said John Mehigan, vice president of investments at Regency Centers. “Having this kinetic art piece that’s huge, that’s lit at night – it’s something so different that no other center can offer because it’s one of a kind.”
Besides being the highest-ticket art piece in the city’s portfolio, it’s also the largest at 85 feet long and 30 feet tall, city staff said. It will be an experience for the public, with seating, landscaping and a fire pit.
“We’re really looking forward to it,” said Trinitee Manuel, who runs the city’s public art program. “This has been several years in the making. Now there’s this anticipation built up.”
Contact the writer: jclay@ocregister.com
