If you’ve wandered recently through the alleyways in the heart of Downtown, you may have stumbled across some new public artwork gracing the walls of several buildings. The paintings are a part of the Plein Air exhibition, which is a component of the larger Finding Time public art installation that celebrates the bicentennial of Columbus with several temporary public art installations that will last through the end of 2012.
“Plein Air” is a French term meaning “in open air” which refers to the fact that these paintings are applied by the artists directly onto the buildings on location. Similar to the application here in Columbus, these paintings are historically hidden on side streets and alleyways for pedestrians to discovered in a somewhat secretive fashion.
The paintings that can be found Downtown thus far depict familiar streetscape scenes in Columbus, which give them an appearance of “portals” that can visually teleport you to other parts of the city. As of today, there are currently five Plein Air paintings to discover Downtown, with a total of 24 to be present once the project is complete.
More information about Plein Air can be found at www.columbuspublicart.com.
