City of West Hollywood Announces a Temporary Art Installation At Kings Road Park: Held by Light by Alicia Piller

As part of the City's Art on the Outside program, the City of West Hollywood announces the temporary public artwork installation, Held by Light by sculptor Alicia Piller, now on exhibit in Kings Road Park, located at 1000 N. Kings Road. Photos of the installation can be found in an album on the City's official Flickr page: www.flickr.com/photos/weho/albums/72177720334979171.

Held by Light is a site-responsive sculptural installation created for Kings Road Park as part of the City of West Hollywood's Art on the Outside program. At its center is a repurposed park bench transformed into a vibrant, functional monument, its seating padded with petal-shaped yoga mats that offer softness and welcome. Rising from the backrest, an organic floral form made of cement arches over the viewer - part bloom, part shelter - inviting reflection and reverence.

Four large biomorphic shapes form the core visual language of the work, each covered in a mosaic of curated images, solar lights, and found objects gathered from the neighborhood. Crafted from concrete, metal, wood, and mixed media, the surface incorporates photographs printed on glass and metal, rope, tubing, and other repurposed materials, and at dusk the sculpture softly glows with integrated solar lighting.

Rooted in the artist's practice of merging micro and macro perspectives, the piece evokes a biological structure - a cellular map of memory, trauma, and renewal. Held by Light responds to West Hollywood's legacy as a progressive and inclusive city, honoring its layered histories and diverse communities. Transforming a utilitarian bench into an accessible public artwork, the installation reflects the city's values through material richness, sustainability, and a deep engagement with place.

Alicia Piller is a Los Angeles-based sculptor whose mixed-media installations explore material memory, ecological systems, and cultural erasure through biomorphic and architectural form. Raised in Chicago, she earned a BFA in Painting and Anthropology from Rutgers University in 2004, and an MFA in Sculpture and Installation from CalArts in 2019. Her work is held in the permanent collections of the Hammer Museum and the California African American Museum, among others, and has been featured in the Los Angeles Times. She is represented by Track 16 in Los Angeles.

The Art on the Outside Program is the City of West Hollywood's temporary art program that installs rotating artworks throughout the City. The artworks can include sculpture, murals, digital art, and other outdoor works. Most exhibitions remain on display between six months and three years. All projects are subject to the Art on the Outside program review and approval process through the City's Arts and Cultural Affairs Commission. The program is funded through the Public Art & Beautification Fund.

The City of West Hollywood's Arts Division delivers a broad array of arts programs including Art on the Outside (temporary public art), Arts Grants, City Poet Laureate, Drag Laureate, Free Theatre in the Parks, Library Exhibits, Summer Sounds + Winter Sounds, Urban Art (permanent public art), WeHo Pride Arts Festival, and WeHo Reads. For more information about City of West Hollywood arts programming, please visit www.weho.org/arts.

For more information about this artwork or about the Art on the Outside Program, please contact Marcus Mitchell, the City of West Hollywood's Public Art Administrator, at [email protected] or at (323) 848-3122. For people who are Deaf or hard of hearing dial 711 or 1-800-735-2929 (TTY) or 1-800-735-2922 (voice) for California Relay Service (CRS) assistance.

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For reporters and members of the media seeking additional information about the City of West Hollywood, please contact the City of West Hollywood's Public Information Officer, Sheri A. Lunn, at (323) 848-6391 or [email protected].