UMass Boston Adds di Suvero Sculpture to Its Public Arts Initiative

Sunflowers for Vincent Installed Thursday, December 15

The University of Massachusetts Boston added another major sculpture by internationally acclaimed artist Mark di Suvero Thursday to Arts on the Point, the university’s public arts initiative. Titled Sunflowers for Vincent, the brightly painted steel and aluminum interactive sculpture is di Suvero’s homage to one of his favorite artists, Vincent van Gogh, whose paintings of sunflowers are some of the Dutchman’s most famous. 

The sculpture was installed Thursday morning, December 15, between University Drive and the Harborwalk near the bend at the campus’s entrance from Morrissey Boulevard. Workers and cranes arrived on campus beginning at 8 a.m. to put the sculpture in place.

“This is a wonderful addition to Arts on the Point and will be another way to celebrate the new and changing UMass Boston campus,” said UMass Boston Chancellor J. Keith Motley. “Now, more than ever, we welcome visitors to our campus to see the works of renowned artists in a beautiful waterfront setting.”

Sunflowers for Vincent joins another monumental work by di Suvero, titled Huru, which stands nearby at the front of the Integrated Sciences Complex, making Columbia Point the only location in New England where the public can see two examples of this renowned artist’s achievements. Other artists whose works are featured in Arts on the Point are Dennis Oppenheim, Roy Lichtenstein, William Tucker, Luis Jiménez, and Willem de Kooning.

Approximately 30 feet long and 10 feet high, Sunflowers for Vincent is as whimsical as it is weighty. Completed in 1985, its cheerful yellow beams, arranged in artful but playful harmony, will delight visitors to Columbia Point.

“Mark di Suvero’s Sunflowers for Vincent was displayed for many years in the deCordova Sculpture Park, where it was enjoyed and indeed beloved by thousands of visitors,” said Nick Capasso, deputy director for curatorial affairs at the deCordova Sculpture Park and Museum. “We are thrilled that this colorful and engaging abstract sculpture, created by one of America’s most prominent artists, will be remaining in New England.” 

“It's great that this fantastic di Suvero on the theme of sunflowers is in Boston,” said George Shackelford, the former chair of European art and Solomon Curator of Modern Art at the Museum of Fine Arts Boston. “It makes me smile, in part because van Gogh's famous painting of Sunflowers was made to go with the MFA’s great portrait of his friend Mme. Roulin. It’s nice to have these symbols of friendship and admiration in the community.”


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With a growing reputation for innovative research addressing complex issues, the University of Massachusetts Boston, metropolitan Boston’s public university, offers its diverse student population both an intimate learning environment and the rich experience of a great American city. UMass Boston’s eight colleges and graduate schools serve nearly 16,000 students while engaging local, national, and international constituents through academic programs, research centers, and public service activities. To learn more about UMass Boston, visit www.umb.edu.