Far Out: Three New Pieces of Public Art are on Display at Array at West Alex
Thanks to these public art pieces, there's more to see at the new mixed use apartment community in West Alexandria.
Alexandria, VA – Have you heard about Array at West Alex? The brand new $200 million mixed-use apartment community is almost finished, and in addition to 10,000 square feet of restaurants, retail, and an eventual Harris Teeter (finished in 2021), you might be wondering if there’s anything pretty to look at. Well, there is. Three pieces of permanent public art were recently unveiled at the property at 3445 Berkeley Street, which is now available for public tours.
David Smedley’s tile mural “The Event” is made with recycled, frost-resistant tile.
“I call it a ‘quilt painting’ based on how I used the tile as swatches of color, texture, and material,” said Smedley, who spent two years designing the piece. “The Event is a 2-dimensional interpretation of a hyper-dimensional space/time cosmic happening that got locked in place on the building. All movement and energy is frozen flat, yet the composition seems to dance in 3D as one walks by. If the viewer investigates further, more rewards can be found. The concept illustrates an idea that there may be something larger going on here. Maybe it’s a communication from someone in an alternate solar system. Maybe it’s a glitch in our matrix that exposes an alternate reality. Maybe it’s an announcement from another existence that a visit is imminent.”
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Harry McDaniel’s kinetic sculpture garden “En Pointe” welcomes visitors to the property, and Alma Selimovic’s 45-foot-tall sculpture “Last Summer” has delicate flowers placed against a bare concrete backdrop.
Selimovic said her piece “represents life but also a moment that has passed. Flowers are like glimpses of memories that pop up to remind us of something and then disappear.”
The pieces were chosen through an intensive interview process with the ownership group and design team, which worked with the City of Alexandria’s Office of the Arts on the project.
Array at West Alex is located near the intersection of King and Beauregard Streets in West Alexandria. The property has 278 apartments available, from $1,885 monthly for a 600 square foot studio apartment to two-bedroom apartments starting at $2,665 a month. The community will include a Silver Diner and 100,000 square feet of dining and retail.
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