The people around and behind the thrumming downtown Bozeman community work diligently to create a home both beautiful and unique. Adding another aesthetic accent to downtown, The Gallatin Art Crossing (GAC) installs and maintains over 40 sustainable outdoor pieces stretching from the Public Library to the Emerson Cultural Center. The man responsible for overseeing installation and manhandling these often cumbersome and larger than life sculptures is Pete Stetcher. A sculptor and contributor to the installation himself, Pete supplies the diverse volunteer and board member force with consistent direction during every installation. Pete Stetcher, chief director of man-stuff, if you will.
When he is not power lifting tons of other artists’ metal onto GAC locations Pete spends his time crafting his own. Sweeping lines and grooves chiseled into stone combined with hard-wrought steel in organic shapes define Pete’s sculptures. Manifesting from the wild world of Pete’s imagination, soaked in the mountainous environment, giant flowers and seedpods spring from the fertile concrete soil of the GAC. Turning Stone and Comet, both naturally inspired kinetic pieces located on Main Street invite the passerby to stop and spin them for a moment to enjoy the light sliding across burnished steel and grooved stone. Pete’s installations stand proudly in downtown as testament to the organic world thriving around our beautiful mountain home of Bozeman.
The Art Crossing exhibit hosts a variety of artwork introducing viewers to many artistic approaches. The goal of the program is to add at least one piece to the permanent collection each year and expand further throughout downtown, bringing unique works to optimal locations. The entries for this year will be posted on the Art Crossing website at www.gallatinartcrossing.com, opened for public voting until the installation date. We prefer this level of community involvement and interaction of art placed for public benefit. The involved fundraising behind the Crossing incorporates a variety of techniques and entities such as community challenges and the solicitation of individuals or businesses for contributions in addition to hours of work from the board and volunteers.
see more of Pete’s work >
