The works of Angelo Caravaglia are spread all across downtown Salt Lake City, Utah, in a pervasive manner. Pieces like Iccarus and Pegasus as well as Four Dancing Figures are easily recognized by residents and visitors, but what has become known as the Angelo Caravaglia Fountain is one of the best examples of the “stylized realism” that became his signature feature.
Sitting outside the US Federal Building, this cast stone fountain was completed in 1965. Commissioned under the Art-In-Architecture Program, it’s an incredible example of the kind of lasting impact that these sorts of programs can enable. The fountain has been able to cultivate interest and activity on multiple levels.
Each stone figure features sharp corners and angles that make it especially abstract, but the closeness of these figures a well as their individual markings allow it to reveal a deeper collective meaning. The sense of strength conveyed by the figures is visceral, with the water that spouts from many of them further showcasing their individual and collective power.
Figures are at the center of Caravaglia’s work, which can be seen in this fountain that is abstract in nature but nonetheless sustains a figurative base. Many of his other pieces are more recognizable in terms of the people they’re depicting, which makes the Angelo Caravaglia Fountain as unique as it is awe-inspiring.
Caravaglia’s works that permeate downtown Salt Lake City have been described as ones that many Utahns would immediately be able to identify even if they couldn’t call out the artist, underscoring the anonymity and power that Caravaglia has come to represent. This anonymity is just part of his appeal and what makes works like his fountain a modern monument for the city.
Audiences have been able to interpret the figurative sculptures of Caravaglia in a variety of ways, but pieces like the Angelo Caravaglia Fountain provide that many more possibilities for interpretation. This variety has ensured that his work will continue to inspire and influence audiences and the entire Salt Lake City community across all eras.
