Denver International Airport (DEN) recently welcomed the newest addition to its permanent public art collection: The Constellations by multidisciplinary artist Danielle Roney. The CONSTELLATIONS consists of two unique suspended sculptures based on the geometry of specific constellations visible above Denver during the Winter Solstice (Pegasus) and Summer Solstice (Boötes – The Herdsman).
“I’m so pleased to welcome The CONSTELLATIONS by Danielle Roney into DEN’s permanent public art collection,” DEN CEO Phil Washington said. “I know these elegant, symbolic sculptures will be long enjoyed by our passengers as they transit the C concourse.”
The City’s 1% for Public Art Ordinance directs that 1% of any capital improvement project over $1 million undertaken by the city be set aside for the inclusion of art. At DEN, funds are set aside and then site-specific large-scale public art opportunities are identified across the campus. For this project, funding was designated by the Gate Expansion Program’s construction budget at DEN. No taxpayer dollars are used for any artwork at DEN. Learn more about the Gate Expansion Program here.
“The CONSTELLATIONS draw from the ancient legacy of celestial navigation and the ways they orient us in the world,” Roney said. “Denver has such a distinct sense of place, with a deep cultural connection between land and sky, that instantly draws me into it. I have loved discovering Denver and its rich natural and social ecologies. DEN itself is an emblem of that connection.”
The CONSTELLATIONS is located in the atriums of Concourse C-East, near gates C54 and C62. The artwork consists of two suspended sculptures measuring 38 feet wide x 36 feet high x 15 feet deep. They are made from powder coated stainless steel, LEDs and glass.
Roney has developed an international practice dedicated to how art and technology can create meaning in the 21st century, working across institutional and civic spaces for over two decades. Moving fluidly across sculpture and digital media, Roney’s work spans expansive architectural projection mapping, museum-scale installation and monumental sculpture commissions. Roney is inspired by the creative opportunities found in international transit corridors—from oceanic ports to international airports—exemplified by the dynamic DEN atrium sites that serve as gateways to a world-class city and its spectacular cultural and natural expanse.
