A Sudden Gust of Wind

Public Artwork on view April 2024 - March 31st 2025 / Powder-coated Aluminum, kite hardware, rip-stock nylon, city trees / Commissioned by The Pittsburgh Cultural Trust

Two hundred kites installed in over 80 trees throughout Pittsburgh’s Downtown Cultural District.

As visitors to downtown Pittsburgh walk through the Cultural District they encounter a number of multi-colored kites which appear to be crashed and trapped in trees. Their forms are crumpled, and their fabric tails are animated by the weather, tangling over time within the branches. These art works, discovered rather than pointed out, invite an audience to consider themselves carefully attuned to the material remains of life’s idiosyncrasies. The kites read as a colorful aftermath of an implied celebratory event. A kite festival gone wrong. A sudden gust of wind that broke the string tethering the kite to its owner. With irreverence and humor, A Sudden Gust of Wind explores the interconnectivity and tension within the human-nature relationship.

A Sudden Gust of Wind by Lenka Clayton and Phillip Andrew Lewis is commissioned by the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust and curated by Anastasia James, Director of Galleries & Public Art. This project would not be possible without the efforts of George Dun, Manager of Gallery Facilities & Public Art and art handlers Kennedy Deen, Chris Korch, Josh Rievel, and Jacquet Kehm with assistance by Davine Byon, Curatorial Assistant.