Committee moves to approve $3.59 million contract for Donald Lipsky’s Great Hall sculpture at Denver International Airport

Denver airport officials asked the Business, Arts, Workforce, Climate, and Aviation Services Committee on Jan. 29 to approve a $3,590,000 contract with the Lipsky Group to fabricate and install a new public artwork, The Stars and the Cottonwood, as part of the Great Hall completion at Denver International Airport.

The piece, designed by artist Donald Lipsky, was selected through a competitive process that began in 2018 and was awarded in 2019. Airport staff said the project is funded from the city’s public art ordinance set‑aside (1% of qualifying capital projects) and represents the second phase of a contract that separated design work during pandemic delays.

Airport presenters described the sculpture as a freestanding steel work about 60 feet tall and 70 feet wide at its tallest point, accented with roughly 30,000 crystals and a base inspired by Red Rocks. Stacy Stegman, senior vice president of communications, marketing and customer experience for Denver International Airport, told the committee the airport expects the artist to fabricate the work over the next two years…