Sky Window Artwork

The blue sculpture on the western walkway of Cesar Chavez Park is a work of public art titled “Sky Window.”  The artist is Kati Casida, a long-time Berkeley resident who has traveled, studied, and exhibited in many countries.

The Sky Window is made of aluminum and is just short of nine feet high with a circumference between 12 and 15 feet.  A stone in the middle serves as bench for two.  Casida created the piece in 1984 on a commission from the Public Arts Program of the City of Berkeley Civic Arts Commission.  A decade later, she restored and repainted the sculpture.  Sky Window is one of the four pieces of public art in the park at this time.  The others are the Cesar Chavez Memorial Solar Calendar, which is a functional as well as artistic project, the Open Circle installation in the northeast corner of the park, and the Peace Symbol on the ground on the hilltop a few steps from Sky Window.

Casida’s metal sculptures are on display in Oakland, Palo Alto, Dallas, Brea CA, Santa Clara and in her place of birth, Viroqua WI, as well as in private collections.  Casida also works in paper, making elaborate molded sculptures that resemble baskets or masks, and some of these are on display in San Francisco, New York, Salem OR, and private collections.

Here is a web page that displays some of her colorful metal sculptures.  A page with details about her life, education, and her shows is on the Sculpture Magazine website.  Here is a 14-minute YouTube video where she talks about her approach to art: