Alan Riggle stared out of his window in Cambria. As he gazed at his tree-covered property stretching out before him, he had an idea. The abstract sculptor usually makes pieces that end up in television shows, movies, and car commercials, but for once the nature that surrounded him also inspired him.
“I thought, ‘This stuff is kind of interesting, maybe I should do something with that,’” he said.
Riggle explained that he just started carving, and the piece began to take shape like nothing he ever produced for the movie industry: “In my own kind of way, it looks like leaves growing up out of a rock. I thought, ‘Hey, this kind of looks fun,’ and I put a leaf here and a leaf there.”
The result was Tribute, as in a tribute to nature, and it quickly found a perfect home in Nipomo at Trilogy Central Coast’s sculpture garden.
When Trilogy opened its Monarch Club, the landscaping, exterior lighting, and pedestals were already in place—but there were no sculptures. The club was designed with art and artists in mind, said Trilogy General Manager Preston Holdner: “The sculpture garden was created for serenity and peacefulness.”
Trilogy contacted the San Luis Obispo Art Center as part of a philanthropic sponsorship. Soon after, the sponsorship became a partnership.
Muara Johnston, assistant director of the San Luis Obispo Art Center, knew of several sculptors who work in a large format, perfect for the space.
“As you could imagine, for most outdoor sculptors, it’s difficult,” she said. “Working in large format, it’s hard to find a place to put it. Most galleries don’t have an outdoor space.”
Trilogy’s space will showcase work by contemporary artists such as Riggle, Rik Phillips, Nick Lomoro, and Ted Emrick, in an installation that will be on display for the next year.
The works—crafted out of steel, marble, stone, glass, and more—were selected for their excellence, execution, and strength of statement.
Phillips contributed two pieces that both challenge and defy the laws of gravity. With elements that fit precariously, the pieces are permanently stuck in an instance of collapse. The sculptures are meant to not just invoke awe, but act as a reflection of life events.
One piece, called Red Long Legs, is just what it sounds like: a three-legged red sculpture. The contemporary abstract piece is a reflection of its surroundings, Phillips said. The color reflects the activity going on around it and helps the piece to stand out against the greenness of the surrounding landscape.
His second piece is called Mana, a Hawaiian word that refers to a person’s inner strength.
“It’s suspended animation, frozen in time,” he said. “They look like they can topple over, but they don’t.”
Such tension creates a strong emotion in people, he said.
“Sometimes people feel uncomfortable, but people like it because it’s about how delicate that balance is between what we are and what is going on in our lives,” Phillips explained.
General Manager Holdner said that the Monarch Club features an indoor and outdoor art space, as well as amenities like a spa and space for parties and a restaurant. The sculpture garden essentially allows the indoor artistic quality to flow outdoors—and creating that flow took a lot of work in a short time.
“It was a bit of a scramble,” Johnston said. “We wanted to make it an outdoor fine arts space. We wanted it to be about the work.”
To that end, representatives from Trilogy and the Art Center worked hard to choose very different pieces from vastly different artists to create an installation that blends its disparate elements well. Each piece was chosen to fit well in a specific spot in the garden.
The sculpture garden is open to the public, and the work is also for sale. A brochure with prices and information about the artists is available at Trilogy’s concierge desk.
How does your sculpture grow?
Trilogy Central Coast is located at 1640 Trilogy Parkway in Nipomo. The sculpture garden is located in the Monarch Club and is open to the public. For more information, call 1-800-685-6494.
Arts Editor Shelly Cone fits well in any setting. Send comments to [email protected].
