ART ON THE STREETS 2026–2027

A Sculpture on Pikes Peak Avenue

Christopher Thomson's Spiral Pajos #5 wins a Juror Award in its first year at Art on the Streets, Colorado Springs.

Spiral Pajos #5 – Orange, hand forged steel sculpture installed on Pikes Peak Avenue, Colorado Springs

Detail of hand forged steel surface on Spiral Pajos #5 by Christopher Thomson

Spiral Pajos #5 – Orange, a twelve-foot-tall composition of hand-forged steel, is now standing on Pikes Peak Avenue in downtown Colorado Springs — part of the 28th annual Art on the Streets exhibition. This is the first year Christopher has entered a piece into the show, and the award came as a genuine surprise. The 2026–2027 exhibition drew entries from artists around the world, with a jury panel that included representatives from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, a Denver-based muralist and educator, and the gallery director at Cottonwood Center for the Arts. Eight sculptures and four murals were chosen for this year's show.

The Program

Nearly Three Decades of Public Art Downtown

Art on the Streets itself has a good story behind it. The program started in the late 1990s, when two downtown businesswomen set out to bring people back to a city center that had lost its footing — the first exhibit placed two dozen sculptures along just two blocks of downtown. It drew enough of a crowd that other business owners began asking for art closer to their own storefronts, and the program grew from there. Nearly three decades later, Michelle Winchell, director of creative economy for Downtown Partnership, told the Colorado Springs Gazette it's been amazing to see the impact of the program over time.

The Sculpture

A Hand Forged Steel Sculpture, Twelve Pieces Tall

Spiral Pajos #5 – Orange belongs to a series Christopher has been developing since 2011: individually forged steel "pajos," worked in small batches and shaped by hand, then composed later — in this case, twelve tapered forgings arranged in groups of three around an Archimedean spiral base, with three additional spiral tendrils reaching skyward. The piece moves with the wind, and its powder coat finish is meant to read differently up close than it does from across the street.

Dimensions: 125"H x 32"W x 32"D
Weight: 250 lbs
Material: Forged steel, powder coat
Location: 15 E. Pikes Peak Ave., Colorado Springs, CO (south side of Pikes Peak Avenue, between North Tejon Street and Cascade Avenue)

Forged steel spiral tendrils of Spiral Pajos #5, viewed from below

Spiral Pajos is series that has been evolving for several years—twelve improvised tapered forgings arranged in groups of three around an Archimedean spiral base. Their in-the-moment “strike while the iron is hot” un-fussed-with-immediacy allow both the unique properties of hot-forge steel and also sensibilities from my own subconscious to project in unplanned ways. This sculpture also includes an additional 3 spiral tendrils shooting energy skyward. The shiny powder coat finish allows the subtleties to be enjoyed both from great distance and up close. The elements move nicely in the wind. The sculpture is meant to be understood non-verbally - much as a piece of music.