Day Christensen outside his studio. Image courtesy of the artist.

Day Christensen has a gift for creating unique, pleasing spaces. A designer by training and trade, Christensen has also become one of Utah’s most successful artists for public projects. His meticulous and creative eye has literally shaped the landscape of Utah, turning a visit to a local park or nearby TRAX station into an experience. It’s a craft he’s been fine-tuning for about half his life, his thirty-year resume resulting in almost as many public art projects around the state.

The home and studio where Christensen lives and works is a reflection of his deliberate aesthetic: a pleasing place to think, work, relax and receive guests. Designed by the artist, the minimalist concrete structure doesn’t intrude on the wooded landscape of his property, accessible by a short unpaved road. It is watched over by his affectionate dog Thor, a Havanese, who happily greets visitors and settles nearby so as not to miss any of the conversation.

When Christensen talks he is articulate but never pretentious. He engages listeners with his attentive eyes and warm personality. In his living room an entire wall serves as a bookshelf, and most of its occupants are about art. If the conversation warrants it, he will pluck one off the shelf and cheerfully tell you about its contents. Among his collection you’ll find a handful of the fine letterpress books Christensen made earlier in his career.

When Christensen talks he is articulate but never pretentious. He engages listeners with his attentive eyes and warm personality. In his living room an entire wall serves as a bookshelf, and most of its occupants are about art. If the conversation warrants it, he will pluck one off the shelf and cheerfully tell you about its contents. Among his collection you’ll find a handful of the fine letterpress books Christensen made earlier in his career.

From an early age, Christensen was drawn to creative pursuits. “Art was something I gravitated to, and also design. I spent most of my youth building tree houses,” he says of his childhood in Walla Walla, Washington. When the time came to go to college he chose Brigham Young University because Utah was familiar ground. Both his parents are from the Beehive State and he frequently visited extended family in the area.

Day Christensen’s home designed by the artist – Photo courtesy of the artist

Initially Christensen was tentative about pursuing a career as an artist. “My interest was art,” he says, “but that didn’t seem terribly practical and at that time BYU had a program in design that they were just starting.” He earned a B.A. in Art and Design and true to his practical nature he did it with the intent of continuing on to graduate school for more specific training.

After finishing his undergraduate degree, Christensen spent a year working in a landscape architect’s office in Billings, MT. He was then accepted to Harvard Graduate School of Design where he earned his Master’s in Landscape Architecture. “I really enjoyed the people I met and I liked being on the East Coast,” Christensen says. The open-minded nature of the people he encountered was something he could appreciate. He was lured back to the opposite coast by a corporate job in Portland, but a year later he returned to Utah. “I enjoy the more relaxed pace of the West, and I’m not a fan of humidity.” he says.

Like Portland, the corporate world proved it wasn’t the best fit. “After working in an office for a few years I decided that I would enjoy doing freelance art-related projects,” he says with a telling smile. It’s very clear that art is his passion and he would be unhappy pursuing anything else.

“I was doing whatever projects would come along whether it was design consulting or letter press work. That’s when the competition for the dome came up,” he says. In the early 1980’s, a violent storm tore a hole in the copper dome of the Utah State Capitol Building. It needed to be replaced but the city didn’t want the copper to go to waste so a competition was held for artists to propose what to do with it. Day was a winner in the competition and with the material constructed a large elegant patina wall out of squares.

From that point on Christensen gradually moved in to the arena of public art. Along the way he did some design consulting for Red Butte Press at the University of Utah. Most recently he was a guest curator at the Utah Museum of Fine Arts for a Trevor Southey exhibit. But public art has proven to be an enduring part of his career where he can apply his keen eye for detail with creative strokes. “I like the challenge of having to address practical issues but then still having it be an interesting visual experience for people,” he says.

He’s looking to create a variety of experiences for the public. “My primary interest is that I enjoy the aspect of having each project be different. It’s not like I have one way of doing art and I’m trying to find different places to do that. My interest is looking at specific projects or settings and figuring out what would be most interesting for that specific project. That may mean it’s a more figurative piece or that may mean it’s a more contemporary piece,” he says.

“High Water,” a sculptural installation created by Day Christensen in 2011. Image courtesy of the artist.

Last year he created “High Water” for Popperton Park. “The challenge there was the scale of the park. What I found interesting was the location, it being high on the bench. There was a question of doing something that would address the scale of the park and its location,” Christensen says. “When you’re up there one of your primary experiences is the sense of the valley going out below you and it’s quite wonderful to realize the entire place was covered with water at one time.” The finished work of 12 stainless steel poles is a poetic reference to the height of ancient Lake Bonneville, which once submerged the entire state.

Christensen’s work often references its surroundings, like his piece “Shovels” that stands along the UTA Frontrunner Commuter Rail in Roy, Utah. “Roy had no water and so the first settlers there had to dig wells by hand. And then they dug a canal from one of the canyons to get water,” Christensen explains. “Then I used some quotes about digging the wells by hand that I found in their histories.” Those quotes are etched on to the shovel blades.

He notes that the historical tributes in his work add a new dimension. “I’m not trying to do history, I’m trying to have interesting, maybe unusual references to it. The idea is to add another layer beyond the visual. It’s for the experience of people as they interact with the work.”

“Shovels,” along the UTA Frontrunner Commuter Rail in Roy, Utah by Day Christensen. Image courtesy of the artist.

Cat sculptures in Salt Lake City’s Steenblik Park by Day Christensen. Image by Kelly Green

One of Christensen’s favorite pieces is located in Steenblik Park and offers a unique nod to its namesake, Joseph Steenblik. When Christensen bid on the Steenblik Park project one of the requirements was coming up with something that appealed to children. In his research, Christensen discovered that Steenblik, an entrepreneur who helped develop the Rose Park area, owned a dairy farm. “I thought about how if you have a dairy farm, cats are always waiting around to get some milk,” he says. The result is a cluster of cats that stand four-and-a-half feet tall and wear expectant faces as if waiting for the children at the park to bring them saucers of milk.

Much of Christensen’s work has a thoughtful simplicity to it. His current project will be part of a senior citizen center in Draper, Utah. “It’s going to be a series of outdoor metal screens that create a courtyard space near the entrance of the building. They’ll have laser cut leaf designs that reflect the vegetation that’s near the building,” he says.

The model in his studio is precise and shows the clean curvature of the screens. It’s a small detail, but issues of angles and scale are things Christensen is particularly sensitive to. This comes back to the restraint and discipline it takes to execute a simple piece. “I always liked the minimalist movement; and there’s a certain strength to it, that’s what’s personally enjoyable to me. Because something can be so simple and still create a powerful experience,” Christensen says.

Another model in his studio is from a rejected proposal for a skateboard park. It sits in a large workspace among tidy stacks of materials. “I’ve been very fortunate in the number of commissions I’ve done but you have to realize that for every commission you get there’s a huge number of commissions you don’t get. That’s just part of the business and you move on to whatever is next.”

Regardless of what is next for him, Christensen will be looking at the smallest details. From his earliest work to his newer pieces, he is meticulous about accounting for everything. He was a consultant on Salt Lake’s 9th and 9th neighborhood. He created the swirling pavement pattern and the 9th and 9th signage with a typeface that references the distinct lettering on the Tower Theatre. Christensen advised the city on the vibrant color scheme and says, “I wanted twice as many lights as they had initially so there is a certain sense of activity when you arrive at that intersection.” The area is increasingly more desirable to live in and Christensen helped give the neighborhood an identity. His “Sugar Beets” have done something similar for the nearby Sugar House area.

Swirling pavement pattern in Salt Lake City’s 9th and 9th neighborhood designed by Day Christensen. Image courtesy of the artist.

Day Christensen’s Sugar Beets in front of the Sprague Library. Image by Jared Christensen.

At its best, public art is an invitation for people to engage with their surroundings. It makes us pause and appreciate a space that has defining character. People who enjoy Steenblik Park, Popperton Park, Sugarhouse, 9th and 9th, and other places where Christensen’s work is on display might feel there is an intangible quality to these areas that make them special. That may be true, but part of it is Christensen’s deliberate, attentive eye that brings a distinctive feel to these areas and makes them memorable.

Day Christensen surrounded by his collection of books. Image by Dale Christensen.

Dale Thompson

Dale Thompson has a B.A. in Liberal Arts from The Evergreen State College and an Masters degree in communications from Westminster College. Her writing career includes work for a local theatre, journalism in Park City, and freelance contributions for various nonprofit organizations.