Olympia adds ‘Joie de Vivre’ sculpture to public art collection

Olympia has officially expanded its public art collection with the addition David Varnau’s “Joie de Vivre,” which received the most votes in the 2016 Percival Plinth Project survey.

The bronze sculpture — whose title is a French phrase that means “joy of living” — depicts a smiling young girl with outstretched arm and a breeze blowing her hair and clothes. It is located on the Percival Landing boardwalk.

The piece is part of the Percival Plinth Project, an annual exhibition and competition displaying 15 loaned sculptures by Washington artists along the waterfront in downtown Olympia.

Public voting took place from July 1 to Aug. 1 for the People’s Choice Award. Diana Fairbanks of the Olympia Arts Commission said comments from voters on this year’s winner “spoke to the sense of joy, freedom and carefree childhood conveyed in the sculpture.”

Every year, the city purchases the People’s Choice Award winner for its permanent art collection. On Tuesday, the Olympia City Council authorized $9,500 from the Municipal Art Fund to buy this year’s winning sculpture, which will be relocated to City Hall in the spring.

Varnau of Edmonds said the sculpture was inspired by his energetic 4-year-old granddaughter.

“To me, it captures those moments in our own lives where our senses are heightened and we feel very alive,” he said.

“Joie de Vivre” received 84 out of 269 total votes. Runner-up was “Reflective Balance” by Cyrra Robinson with 48 votes, while “Coming Home” by Leo E. Osborne finished third with 39 votes.

The 2015 People’s Choice Award winner was “Olympia Oyster” by local wildlife artist Colleen R. Cotey.

This story was originally published August 25, 2016 at 1:21 PM with the headline "Olympia adds ‘Joie de Vivre’ sculpture to public art collection."