Artist Biography

A tornado of 120 bicycles. A baseball of 600 bats. A wave of 60 canoes built in Lewiston across the Snake River from Clarksville for Lewis and Clark. Christopher Fennell builds large site specific sculptures out of recycled materials based on the site’s history. The elements in the structure swirl about a center and lean forward. A 68’ guitar of truck frames in Memphis where Elvis played his first concert. Three 26’ tall sprouts, with leaves made from little red wagons, as a seated reading area between two elementary schools inspired by Jack and the Beanstalk in El Paso. Sunscreen Trees and Benches made from 200 skateboard decks for a skate park in Norfolk. A fireball of decommissioned fire ladders for a fire station. A bus stop shelter made of 3 school buses. An entry into the arboretum of 200 shovels. A wave of 6000’ of recycled pipe for a water treatment plant. Having built sculpture in 24 states, he just finished installing twelve 19’ tall working weathervanes in Fort Worth where the animals are made from locally salvage material: a racoon from trash cans, a rabbit from car springs, a bird from birdhouses, a coyote from fences, a hawk from plane wings, a tortoise out of mailboxes, a snake from truck rims, a cow from lawn mower blades, an armadillo out of shovels, a rooster from baseball bats, a horse from bicycles and a longhorn from train rails.

Artist Statement

“I build sculptures in forms inspired by nature out of urbane objects. Colossal waves out of canoes, fireballs out of aluminum ladders, tornadoes out of bicycles. The elements in the structure swirl about a center and lean forward. The materials are recognizable from daily life: extension ladders, car windows, aluminum row boats. These materials are gathered in multiples and welded into iconic forms: a fireball, a tornado, a wave, an animal. The installations are thematic based on the site and it’s history: a fireball of decommissioned fire ladders for a fire station, trees out of skate decks for a skateboard park, a wave of recycled pipe for a water treatment plant. The placing of the elements in the array is inspired by nature: schooling fish or branches on a tree. I build interactive installations that the viewer can walk through or sit on to encourage investigation. This sculpture was inspired by standing in a bowl full of skaters. All of them shooting up the sides, catching air and zipping down to build up speed. The skaters zigzagging in chaos yet controlled enough to not hit each other…mostly.”

Skate Leaves Statement

This sculpture was inspired by standing in a bowl full of skaters. All of them shooting up the sides, catching air and zipping down to build up speed The skaters zigzagging in chaos yet controlled enough to not hit each other…mostly.