For many public artworks, permanence is the exception rather than the rule. Jen Lewin’s The Ursas, however, has made the uncommon leap from the ephemeral landscape of Burning Man to a permanent installation along Brooklyn’s evolving Gowanus waterfront, where the monumental sculptures now anchor a newly accessible stretch of the canal.

'The Ursas' by Jen Lewin were installed at Burning Man in 2023
Photography by Mattias Lowe.
Workers in safety vests install Jen Lewin’s The Ursas, a large geometric animal sculpture, next to a wrapped sculpture on a city waterfront construction site
Workers on a lift install Jen Lewin’s The Ursas, a striking geometric animal sculpture, in an urban setting surrounded by high-rise buildings and construction scaffolding
Construction workers install two large geometric bear sculptures from Jen Lewin’s The Ursas outdoors in an urban area, with modern buildings and a forklift visible in the back