Have You Spotted These Pieces of Art Around Tysons?

Look around Tysons and you’ll find art near every Metro station.

Tysons Reporter has rounded up the outside artworks in the area that are Instragram-worthy and easy to walk to.

“Early Bird”

Maybe you’ve spotted the dozens of bronze birds scattered around The Plaza outside Tysons Corner Center (1961 Chain Bridge Road). If you haven’t — just take a look around at the seating and railings.

The birds depict five species — the morning dove, the red-tailed hawk, the robin, the crow and the cardinal — and were created by a trio of George Mason University artists, according to the university. In total, there are 63 birds.

Fun fact: “Early Bird is the name of Intelsat’s first communications satellite. It was launched into orbit on April 6, 1965,” according to the university.

“The Thought”

It’s hard to not notice the nearly 16-foot-tall bronze sculpture outside the Walmart (1500 B Cornerside Blvd) in Tysons West where an enormous face rests its chin on a hand.

Robert Cole created the structure with copper pipe before covering it with welded bronze plates. His assistant, Josh Yavelberg, helped with the creation of the piece, according to the D.C.-based Robert Cole Studios.

Cole, who had art at other Metro stations and around the D.C.-area, died in 2013.

“Solar Sails”

Known for his use of glass, artist Ray King created “Solar Sails” outside the Tysons Corner Metro station (1943 Chain Bridge Road) in 2015. The laminated glass panes and tension pulled steel measure 50 feet long outside, according to the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority.

“By creating dynamic interactions with the sun and refracting light into colors — rainbow-like emanations that shift and change as the viewer moves or as the light source changes — King creates an environment that appeals to viewers’ sense of wonderment and delight,” WMATA’s website says.

“Hoop-La” 

Alice Aycock created the aluminum and powder-coated steel sculpture in front of the Capital One headquarters (1680 Capital One Drive) by the McLean Metro station.

According to a description from Capital One:

For the Capital One project, Alice tried to visualize energy, thoughts and ideas as a series of spiral vortexes gathering momentum — each emerging from the vortex below as whirlpools of thought. She designed the work to appear to spin off into the air, forming a dynamic, three-dimensional mixture of forms.

The sculpture is a metaphor for the way ideas connect in energetic and unpredictable ways in the pursuit of knowledge.

Much of Alice’s work in both public and private spheres has been a meditation on the philosophical ramifications of technology, from the simplest to the most advanced tools. Many of these works have incorporated images of the wheel and turbines and references to energy.

“Voyagers”

Located on the ground level at the McLean Metro station mezzanine (1824 Dolley Madison Blvd) are 26 laminated glass panels. Martin Donlin hand painted and airbrushed the panels, which include etchings of poetry from Virginia Poet Laureates, in 2015.

“‘Voyagers’ represents both the physical and cognitive idea of travel and transportation,” the WMATA website says.

“Eccentricity”

Standing 40 feet tall, the stainless steel and concrete work by Barbara Grygutis greets people outside the west entrance pavilion plaza outside the Spring Hill Metro station (1576 Spring Hill Road), according to WMATA.

More from WMATA about the sculpture:

This large iconic columnar sculpture and plaza demarcate the Spring Hill Road Station along WMATA’s Metro Silver Line. The sculptural form displays shifting moiré patterns as the viewer moves about the piece — from pedestrians at ground level and above on the train platform, to vehicles and bicyclists passing at varying speeds. The plaza includes an offset concentric ring design in two shades of concrete with poetry by previous Poet Laureate of Virginia Lee Pelham Cotton in aluminum within the concrete. In the evening, the pillar is illuminated to create a peacemaking feature around the clock.

WMATA commissioned Grygutis to create the piece, which was finished in 2016, according to the artist’s website. People can see it driving or walking along Leesburg Pike by the Metro stop.

“Tysons Luxury Lilies”

People getting off the Greensboro Metro station and folks heading to the Tysons Biergarten have surely seen the massive mural featuring water lilies at 8346 Leesburg Pike.

Created by Lawrence Atoigue, professionally known as Naturel, the 100 by 200 foot mural was launched in 2016 as part of a placemaking effort by Tysons Partnership.

The mural, located on a wall owned by Beacon Capital Partners, was inspired by Claude Monet’s “Water Lily” series, according to Tysons Partnership.

“Technology Triangle Colonnade”

Columns standing 21 feet tall are located on opposite sides of Leesburg Pike at the Greensboro Metro station (8304 Leesburg Pike). David Dahlquist created the metal, fiberglass and concrete columns with LED lights in 2016.

“The symbolic triangle, representative of the connection of government, industry, and consumer, becomes a dramatic iconic marker,” according to the WMATA website. “The sculptural columns create a dynamic connection to the station.”

People who look closely can spot the poetry by Virginia Poet Laureates in the bands around the base of each column.