Cloud Fountain was selected in 2017 among several different artist proposals by a Review Committee comprised of Elk Grove Art Commissioners and city staff for the new Elk Grove Civic Center. Gordon’s work is one of eight selected pieces, five of which were commissioned for the exterior plaza and together create an “Avenue of the Arts”, leading between the community center building and the newly built aquatics center.

Due to the fact that the aquatic center has such a prominent place in the overall master plan and design of the center, and fountains and splash pools are also featured throughout the master plan, Gordon decided to explore the concept of water as central to the lives and experiences of the Elk Grove community. Cloud Fountain is an abstract representation of this essential element.

Emerging from the ground like a surge of water, Cloud Fountain is a commanding yet seemingly weightless sculptural installation that will complement the civic center throughout the day and night.

Gordon studied the profile of water droplets as they “bounce” off surfaces; the unique shape of a droplet suspended in space was his starting point. The undulating and graceful lines of this three-dimensional object are intended to convey the behavior of water as it bursts forth form its underground source and as it returns to the earth’s surface.

Rainier Industries, the same company that constructed the aluminum tubing for The Canyon at the Salt Lake City Airport, helped with the CNC precision-formed aluminum tubing for this installation. Anchored with an aluminum frame, Cloud Fountain has a height of 24 feet (with an additional three feet added by its base) and a diameter of 12 – 14 feet. The rippling effect of the tubing creates a kinetic experience for the viewer; as a driver or pedestrian passes by, the sculpture itself appears to move. During the day, the undulating bars of aluminum will interact with the sun – creating patterns and shadows throughout the space. At night, this elegant form becomes a dramatic lantern with multi-colored LEDs, installed within the work, illuminating the sculpture in a slowly shifting pattern of color.

The prominence of the site for the sculpture demanded that it be appreciated and understood from a 360° perspective. There is no front or back, a viewer receives a full visual experience of the sculpture no matter their position.

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