The Visual Arts Commission and High Plains Arts Council have selected a sculpture of St. Patrick created by two Loveland artists to be the newest addition to the Benson Sculpture Garden following last year’s Sculpture in the Park show.
HPAC presented the piece — a life-size sculpture of St. Patrick, holding a staff and reaching his arm outward, created by artists Elijah Nugent and Jack Kreutzer — to the arts commission during a meeting earlier this month; the commission approved the statue to be added to the sculpture park.
Since 1984, the nonprofit council has procured artwork for the sculpture park, using proceeds from the annual Sculpture in the Park.
Jade Windell, one of the executive directors of HPAC, said the selection committee not only admired the sculpture for its craftsmanship but also for the tale it tells of the fifth century man.
“There is more of a dynamic story behind the name than you know,” he said, adding that it was the only piece chosen by the council this year and that the council aims to do some landscaping work in the park and select more works from the 2025 show.
Nugent said he and Kreutzer were originally commissioned to create the piece for Marian University’s engineering department in Indiana
“St. Patrick was the patron saint of engineers,” he said. “They thought it appropriate to have some representational work.”
Nugent and Kreutzer ultimately cast two of the sculptures, one that went to the school and one that stayed in Loveland. The sculpture depicts St. Patrick standing atop a bridge featuring Celtic symbols, one hand stretching out ahead of him and the other holding an intricate staff.
Both artists did a great deal of research into the man when creating the piece, including using an autobiography written by St. Patrick as he travelled Ireland, as inspiration for how to create the sculpture, Nugent said. Along with a heavy emphasis on his form and stance, they also wanted to illustrate what he did in his journeys across the country.
The sculpture was included in the 2024 Sculpture in the Park show, where it received a lot of interest from the public. Nugent said this led to him and Kreutzer entering the sculpture to be chosen by HPAC to be given to the city for the sculpture garden.
“It’s a great honor,” Nugent said, adding that this will be his first piece placed in the park. “Benson means a lot to the town, I think it represents a lot of what we are and who we are.”
“There will be a lot of people who will enjoy it,” Kreutzer said.
For HPAC and the VAC, adding more unique works to the one-of-a-kind park is an important thing for the city to do.
“The diversity of artwork in Benson Sculpture garden is unparalleled,” said Suzanne Janssen, public art manager for the city. “The Loveland HPAC board is very conscious as to the sculptures they bring to the city of Loveland. I don’t know of any other public private partnership in Colorado that has the depth of artwork that is donated to a city and its residents.”
“The High Plains Art Council and the city have one of the most special relationships there (is) between a nonprofit and a city in providing the sculptures for the park,” Windell said. “I think it’s important … for the youth to see sculpture and art in a public setting. I think it makes this town special.”
The sculpture is expected to be placed in the park over the summer, however it’s exact location in the park is not yet known.
