Public Artwork Livens Up New Northern Scottsdale Neighborhood Park

Scottsdale Arts welcomes the northernmost public artwork to the Scottsdale Public Art Permanent Collection with “Potentilla” by Arizona-based artist Mary Bates Neubauer at the new Ashler Hills Park. 

“Potentilla” consists of five exterior artistic panels attached to shade canopies located near the lighted pickleball and basketball courts. The patterns represented in these panels are inspired by the potentilla, or Arizona cinquefoil, a shrubby native plant whose flowers have a five-leaved radial symmetry. 

Victoria Sajadi, public art manager for Scottsdale Public Art, said the artwork's intent is to provide something interesting to the shade structures for those who use the new courts. 

“Art doesn't have to be usable, but I do think that it's great when it can serve multiple purposes,” Sajadi said. “People are going to interact with ‘Potentilla' and discover that it's actually art, encouraging them to learn more about the surrounding nature and art.” 

Scottsdale Public Art, part of the nonprofit Scottsdale Arts, has worked with Neubauer in the past when she created “Traceries” — a series of eight side-by-side metal recycle/waste bins — for the south bank of the Arizona Canal in the Scottsdale Waterfront area of Old Town between Goldwater Boulevard and Scottsdale Road. 

Neubauer's public art projects can be seen in many western states, including several interactive sculptural works involving light and sound. She has completed more than 30 public artworks in the United States and Italy, using her interest in complex geometries, tilings and tessellations in many of these recent commissioned artworks. 

“I am interested in the many ways complex geometries underlie forms in nature, resulting in public art designs that can be satisfying to view,” Neubauer said. 

“Potentilla” utilizes Neubauer's inspiration of a jali — a perforated stone or latticed screen commonly found in the architecture of India — to produce cooling breezes, using modern metal designs that are effective in the Sonoran Desert environment. 

Made from laser-cut, sandblasted steel, the five panels that compose “Potentilla” will be allowed to rust naturally. Phoenix-based manufacturer Magnum Engineering, Inc. (Magnum) fabricated and installed the artwork. 

Magnum has worked with Scottsdale Arts for many years, assisting in the fabrication of many public artworks, such as “Impulsion” by Scottsdale artist Jeff Zischke and “Diamond Bloom” by Portland artist Curtis Pittman. Neubauer collaborated with Magnum to select COR-TEN steel plates for the artwork, a high-carbon steel product that produces a sustainable, permanent weathering pattern that will endure for many decades. 

“I wanted to develop congruently styled screens, inspired by a native plant form that would create dappled shade,” Neubauer said. “At the same time, I wanted to create a design that allowed enough negative space for desert breezes to blow. The resulting patterns are soft and curvilinear yet retain a brisk, lively contemporary look.'” 

To learn more about “Potentilla” and view photos of the artwork, visit ScottsdalePublicArt.org/work/potentilla.