The City of Ketchum and the Ketchum Arts Commission are celebrating the first “Surprise Art” project now on display on the south side of the Ketchum Innovation Center building located at 311 First Ave., N.
The city’s newest public art was created by Wood River Valley native Rudi Broschofsky. The artwork consists of metallic enamel and spray paint on five-foot-high wood panels that stretch across 36 feet of the building’s outside wall.
Broschofsky’s work, entitled “Flight,” is based on a proverb about the wise old owl. According to Broschofsky, the owl’s open wings symbolize a welcoming nature to outsiders and entrepreneurs.
Wings also “denote the idea of flight, as the KIC is a place where aspirations hatch and take flight into something more successful and concrete,” said Broschofsky, who now lives in Portland.
Ketchum Mayor Nina Jonas said the newest addition to Ketchum’s public art inventory underscores the city’s commitment to the value of art to engage and enhance quality of life. “Art in public spaces engages the community in their environment inviting conversation and contemplation,” Jonas added.
“All of us on the Ketchum Arts Commission are thrilled with the results of our first Surprise Art project,” said Courtney Gilbert, the new chair of the Ketchum Arts Commission and curator of visual arts at the Sun Valley Center for the Arts. “Rudi’s owl activates the exterior of the KIC building in a visually engaging way. His dynamic artwork is a great example of the way art can help enliven the city. We’re looking forward to pursuing other more temporary, pop-up Surprise Art projects around the city in the future.”