Like some of the world’s most-coveted masterpieces, Vail’s first Artist in Residency program has been a work in progress for many years. As envisioned, the residency will serve as a cornerstone for the town’s Art in Public Places Program (AIPP; artinvail.com) by providing a dedicated studio space to attract visiting artists for multiple-week residencies and allow the town to diversify its ever-expanding and evolving public art collection. And while the actual physical studio is still in the final approval process, the program’s first official artist has been selected: Washington state sculptor and painter Squire Broel, who will be visiting Vail as an itinerant resident this summer, touring the valley, meeting other artists, and explaining his work to the community.

AIPP Coordinator Molly Eppard credits longtime Vail Valley residents and prolific contemporary art collectors Kent and Vicki Logan with “lighting the fire under the Art in Public Places board of directors to update the strategic plan and to fine-tune what the program looks like.”  Broel’s extensive experience with programs and residencies in communities around the country and his ties to the community—Broel, a renowned art conservator, has maintained the Logans’ private collection for years—no doubt will be helpful in developing the pilot program. “We’re really interested in community engagement,” Eppard adds. “Squire’s vision is a win-win for all of us.” 

Broel began his career as an artist as a patineur for the Walla Walla Foundry, honing bronze coloration skills while working for sculptors like Jim Dine, Deborah Butterfield, David Bates, and Roy Lichtenstein. At the same time, Broel says his interest in the traditions, methods, and references to natural and mystical forms used by Northwest artists began to inform his own work, expressed in a variety of dimensions and media. 

When asked to submit a proposal to the AIPP board as a candidate for the nascent residency program, Broel chose to present a portfolio of totemic sculptures. “I think about the combination of natural, tree, and architectural forms like Gothic cathedrals,” he explains. “They are windows in the wilderness that make us think about things larger than ourselves, like community, environment, and the planet.” 

The community’s interest in expanding its aesthetics is particularly compelling to Broel, who views making art as an act of hope, regardless of the outcome. “It’s confusing to me when communities focus on certain aesthetics,” he says. “When you can engage with art with the understanding that it can be about things that aren’t easily digested or understood, the end result is almost always positive.” He’s also encouraged by the Logans’ desire to expand the experience of art in Vail. For years, he says, they were told they should move to Aspen, where the contemporary art world has deeper roots, but they remained committed to Vail, he says, “[because] they understand how art can impact lives.”

At press time, Broel was looking forward to his groundbreaking summer in Vail. Rather than sculpting actual pieces, which he says would be virtually impossible due to the size and scale of his work, he will be shipping sculpture to Vail for temporary installation in and around Ford Amphitheater. He’ll spend his days conducting meet-and-greets and walkabouts to generate conversation and interest in both his own art and the impact of art in a larger landscape.

“What I like about Vail’s program is its flexibility,” he says. “This is a beta test to see how the program can be responsive to the larger community and not just mimic other programs around the region … My goal is to educate people to consider the inherent value of the art—one that doesn’t focus on the biggest names, but rather, attracts artists that are trying to communicate what they are doing at a personal level to engage with the community.”