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Northwestern Mutual Garden welcomes new sculpture downtown

northwestern mutual sculpture
Posted at 6:20 PM, Jul 12, 2022
and last updated 2022-07-12 20:08:19-04

MILWAUKEE — The lush Northwestern Mutual garden is welcoming a new addition to their art scene, a pyramid sculpture.

Artist, Maren Hassinger traveled to Milwaukee from New York City. The pyramid sculpture is made up using sticks from Fox Point that have been re-purposed.

"I just wanted to juxtapose the beginnings of structure and the ends," said Hassinger.

The sculpture showcasing ancient architecture was strategically placed right next to the ultra-modern Northwestern Mutual skyscraper downtown.

"The materials that we're using are actually buckthorn. So buckthorn is an invasive species and we wanted to use it to create something really beautiful. It can be a bit of a thorn in our ecosystem so it's really fun to be able to re-purpose the branches and create something completely different," said Meg Strobel, Marketing Director of Sculpture Milwaukee.

Students from the UW-Milwaukee Peck School of Arts volunteered alongside Hassinger to construct the pyramid.

"It's kind of giving new life to the city through contemporary art. It helps us to re-examine the architecture that's around us and re-imagine the urban landscape," said Strobel.

The pyramid sculpture is expected to be complete by the end of this week and will be on display in the Northwestern Mutual garden until October of 2023.

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