PUBLIC ART

street-level pieces feature canopies that cast fanciful shadows along the sidewalk. “Puente de Rippling Shadows,” which is on the Brooklyn bridge, features aqua discs atop tall silver posts; in an interview posted to the

San Antonio River Authority site, Briseño said his intent was to evoke ripples in water. “Puente de los Encuentros,” on the McCullough bridge, is made of hands arching overhead, a design meant to call to mind people waving hello.

Bonus art! If you climb up to street level to see “Puente de Rippling Shadows,” you also can see a new mural by Ghost on the back of Back Unturned Brewing Co., 516 Brooklyn. It depicts a “Greetings from San Antonio” postcard with images of soldiers, like the artist himself, as well as ballet folklorico dancers.

“Under the Over Bridge”: Mark Schlesinger’s installation beneath the Ninth Street bridge features green and blue geometric forms reaching from one side to the other. Schlesinger developed the luminescent concrete for the piece, which glows in the dark. Those who want to spend a little time communing with the work can take a seat on a cube topped with fiber optic terrazo tile.

“Sonic Passage”: Bill Fontana’s soundscape is in the midst of being repaired, but it should be back online in the next week or so. The installation, which can be heard from speakers stationed along the

Jones Avenue underpass and bridge, brings together sounds that the artist recorded all along the river over the course of a year, including birdsong and waterfalls.

HemisFair tiles: The nine decorative silver-colored tiles, which can be seen across the river from the San Antonio Museum of Art, were made in Taiwan and displayed in the Taiwanese Pavilion during HemisFair ’68. The installation is intended to commemorate the historical presence of Chinese people in Texas and the contributions of Chinese railway workers in the late 19th century.

Bonus art! Take a gander across the river and you can see a 6 ½-ton Taihu rock on display in a lushly landscaped area on the museum grounds. The limestone formation represents the deep bonds between San Antonio and its Chinese sister city, Wuxi. Strollers who want to get a closer look can cross the river via the Ewing Halsell Pedestrian Bridge, which originally was part of the Lone Star Brewery. The building now is home to the museum.

“F.I.S.H.”: Donald Lipski’s installation comprises a school of gigantic fiberglass longear sunfish swimming through the air below Interstate 35 near Camden Street and Newell Avenue. As delightful as the fish are during the day, they’re even more of a visual treat at night, when they are lit from within.

“The Grotto”: Carlos Cortés’ enticing, comparatively sprawling installation along the river at Camden Street and Newell Avenue invites visitors to step inside its cool, cavelike interior. The faux bois structure, which includes a waterfall and benches, is laced with seashells, and stalactites and stalagmites. Cortés also created a second piece overlooking “The Grotto” at street level, a palapa-style spot shaded by a thatched roof.

“River Origins and Movements #1 and #2”: George Schroeder created the forged steel pieces, abstract representations of plants and animals, that can be found lining the bridges near “The Grotto.”

Nine silver tiles across from the San Antonio Museum of Art were made in Taiwan and displayed during HemisFair ’68.