The City of Culver City announced this week that the “A Frame for a Tree” art installation by Charles Gaines would be delayed by several weeks and is now expected to begin in mid-October 2026.
“Installation is expected to take approximately six weeks, creating a new visual gateway for Culver City,”according to a city statement. “Additional updates will be shared as work gets underway.”
The city has said that the installation, once complete, will be “a landmark public art installation that explores the intersection of systematic logic, natural forms, and public space. By enclosing a mature Ficus tree within an architectural grid structure, the monumental artwork invites viewers to engage with nature, urban history, and the surrounding streetscape through a new lens. The City of Culver City is proud to feature this transformative work as a signature visual gateway for our community.”
“A Frame for a Tree” will be located at the intersection of Washington Blvd and National Blvd (TOD District Gateway). The installation will now begin in mid-October, with an eight-week duration. There won’t be any major road closures; though brief localized slowdowns during early morning equipment load-ins are anticipated. To ensure tree health, there will be “on-site supervision by a certified master arborist throughout all structural lifts.”
“Charles Gaines is a globally recognized pioneer of Conceptual Art and longtime CalArts professor whose career spans over 50 years,” the city said online. “His work is held in the permanent collections of major global institutions, including MoMA, the Whitney, and the Tate Modern. Bringing a monumental public work by an artist of his stature elevates Culver City as a major cultural destination in Southern California.”
“Since the mid-1970s (starting with the series Walnut Tree Orchard), Gaines has used trees as central subjects to explore how mathematical systems and organic nature interact. The sculpture acts as an architectural screen or ‘viewfinder’ that poetically frames the living Ficus tree and surrounding urban landscape from street level, nearby buildings, and passing Metro Expo Line trains.”
For more information, visit https://www.culvercity.gov/Explore/Arts-Culture/Public-Art/Public-Art-Spotlight/Charles-Gaines-A-Frame-for-a-Tree