(Minneapolis) The iconic red cherry found in the sculpture garden of the Walker Art Museum has returned to its rightful place. The cherry was in need of refinishing. On November 15th, 2021 the Cherry was separated from the Spoon, taken down and shipped to New York to be refinished.
The sculpture called Spoonbridge and Cherry was created by Coosje van Bruggen and Claes Oldenburg. And has been found in the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden since 1988. In order to keep the cherry red, crisp, and glossy through all seasons, it requires a fresh coat of paint about every ten years. The 1200 pound aluminum ball has been in New York under the care of Fine Art Finishes while the Spoonbridge base has remained without its iconic fruit. The Cherry was last separated from the Spoon for restoration and re-painting in 2009.
A Crane operator and workers reinstalled the cherry on Friday morning February 18th, 2022.
Iconic Cherry Removed Being Fixed at Fine art Finish The Cherry returned to the Spoon
ABOUT THE MINNEAPOLIS SCULPTURE GARDEN
Since opening in 1988, the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden has become one of the Twin Cities’ most popular and acclaimed attractions. One of the largest urban sculpture parks in the United States, it includes four 100-foot-square quadrants containing works by leading modern and contemporary artists. Each of these “roofless rooms” are bordered by low granite walls and evergreen hedges that lead to a clearing surrounded by evergreens, which features the city’s adopted icon, Spoonbridge and Cherry, a sculpture specifically created for the space by Claes Oldenburg and Coosje van Bruggen. Anchoring the west side of the Garden is the Cowles Conservatory, which houses seasonal plantings and the sculpture Standing Glass Fish, by architect Frank Gehry. Another iconic work is the Irene Hixon Whitney Bridge, a 375-foot steel-and-wood footbridge designed by artist Siah Armajani, which spans 16 lanes of traffic and connects the Garden to Loring Park. The 1992 expansion of the Garden on its northern end was designed by landscape architect Michael Van Valkenburgh.
