Fulton Mall Public Art

Three Fires: "Spreading Fires"  - "Leaping Fires"  - "Smoldering Fires" - modern copper and Venetian glass by Claire Falkenstein (1908-1998)

These three pieces are among the most interesting on the mall, and at one time, perhaps the most controversial. An abstract interpretation of the dynamism of fire, the pieces met with considerable community discussion when they were installed by the artist in 1966. The three sculptures are typical of much of her public works of the mid 1960's which consist of wire and metal tubing.

Claire Falkenstein was born in Coos Bay, Oregon. She was chosen "Woman of the Year for Art" by the Los Angeles Times, 1969. She taught at San Francisco Art Institute, Mills College, and UCLA. She was a student of the Russian-born modernist sculptor Alexander Archipenko, and was also influenced by Bauhaus artists Laszlo Moholy-Nagy and Gyorgy Kepes. She had numerous shows and commissions, one in a French chateau which was exhibited at the Louvre. Critics consider her commissioned works for St. Basils Church in Los Angeles to be her most important work. In 1997 she was named as the "Distinguished Woman Artist," by the Fresno Art Museum's Council of 100.

Location: Fulton Mall & Kern Mall, near Chukchansi Park entrance