Vancouver’s best outdoor art

by Sheri Radford

Rain or shine, Vancouver has much to offer for art aficionados. Lace up your walking shoes, because some of the city’s most impressive artwork can be found in the great outdoors. [Photo credit: iStock/laughingmango]

The Ocean Concrete worksite has been a fixture on Granville Island since 1917, so its six gigantic silos are very familiar to Vancouverites. In 2014, Brazil’s most famous identical twin brothers, Otavio and Gustavo Pandolfo – better known as OSGEMEOS – used spray paint to transform these plain silos into Giants, the largest public mural of their career so far. At over 21 metres (70 feet) tall, these colourful figures are impossible to miss. [Photo by Sheri Radford]

If there’s one thing absolutely everyone associates with this city, it’s rain. Created by the German artist collective Inges Idee, The Drop, outside the Vancouver Convention Centre, pays homage to the 162 days of “liquid sunshine” that Vancouver receives each year. It was made from steel and covered in Styrofoam and blue polyurethane. [Photo credit: iStock/JohnCrux]

Vancouver artist Liz Magor designed LightShed to look like one of the old wooden freight sheds that used to be commonplace in Coal Harbour, long before the days of soaring glass apartment towers. The entire piece was cast in aluminum. At night, it glows softly, thanks to internal lights set on timers. LightShed sits on the seawall at Harbour Green Park, at the foot of Broughton Street. [Photo by Sheri Radford]

Thirteen corten steel arcs make up 217.5 Arc x 13, the massive sculpture at Sunset Beach created by French conceptual artist Bernar Venet. The name references the piece’s precise mathematical composition. The sculpture is a popular spot for children looking to climb, as well as for adults needing a seaside rest. [Photo courtesy of Tourism Vancouver/Nelson Mouellic]

One of Vancouver’s most beloved and most photographed artworks, A-maze-ing Laughter, was a gift to the city from Chip Wilson (creator of Lululemon) and his wife Shannon Wilson (co-creator of Kit & Ace). The 14 cast bronze figures capture the hysterical laughter of the artist, China’s Yue Minjun. See these laughing figures in English Bay. [Photo by Sheri Radford]

Looking for the perfect place to pop the question? Located at Sunset Beach, Dennis Oppenheim’s giant engagement rings have been the site for many successful proposals. The American artist’s Engagement suggests the balancing act that is a successful marriage. [Photo credit: iStock/kongxinzhu]

Vancouver’s Douglas Coupland may be best known for penning Generation X and JPod, but he’s also a successful visual artist, having created local pieces such as Golden Tree and Terry Fox Memorial. His whimsical Digital Orca is a killer whale constructed out of giant Lego blocks. Made from powder-coated aluminum on a stainless steel frame, it sits outside the Vancouver Convention Centre. [Photo by Sheri Radford]

Hearkening back to the 1950s and ’60s, when Vancouver’s streets were lit up by thousands of neon signs, this illuminated marquee defies easy interpretation. Designed by Vancouver artist Ron Terada, The Words Don’t Fit the Picture references everything from Willie Nelson’s song of the same name to the contents of the Vancouver Public Library. The artwork sits outside the VPL’s central branch downtown. [Photo by Sheri Radford]

Vancouver artist Marcus Bowcott stacked five scrap cars on top of an old-growth cedar tree to create Trans Am Totem, to warn people of the dangers of environmental degradation. Located near Science World, this modern day totem pole has been carefully placed between busy streets of traffic, with the SkyTrain zooming overhead, to emphasize the effects of transportation and car culture on our planet. [Photo courtesy of Vancouver Biennale]

Due to climate change, sea levels are projected to rise between four and six metres. To illustrate a sea rise of five metres, Rhonda Weppler and Trevor Mahovsky painted blue stripes (entitled A False Creek) on the pilings of the Cambie Street Bridge and the lampposts near Coopers’ Park. The end result, though lovely, warns of the disaster to come if the planet’s major ice sheets continue to melt. [Photo by Sheri Radford]