At the corner of Old Redwood Highway and Pleasant Avenue stands a striking steel sculpture titled Darlings. Created in 2025 by Petaluma-based sculptor Sean Paul Lorentz, Darlings is constructed from reclaimed industrial steel sourced from the historic San Francisco–Oakland Bay Bridge. The new addition to Windsor’s growing public art program is presented by the Luther Burbank Center for the Arts as a satellite location for their current sculpture exhibition, Shape and Motion.
Lorentz, an abstract expressionist, is known for working with salvaged materials, allowing form to evolve organically through the physical process of building. Darlings features long, angular steel trusses that intersect diagonally through a rectangular frame made of I-beams. Enveloped inside one of the patina-covered trusses is a shining silver truss, partially emerging from its weathered steel shell.
“I started with the frame, and I made the abstract component inside after,” said Lorentz, speaking on the development and creation of the piece. The frame is designed to evoke a sense of comfort in the viewer, reminiscent of a picture frame or framed artwork that might be hung on a wall. He often incorporates framing elements to ground his work in something recognizable, providing viewers with a familiar entry point into the otherwise abstract composition.
When asked about the inspiration for the piece, Lorentz reveals that the sculpture was inspired by a close friend’s childbirth experience. “When I was working on this piece, dear friends of mine were going through a hard pregnancy and labor, that was successful in the end… There are visual metaphors happening here for the labor and pregnancy.”
The title is inspired by the family’s name, though Lorentz invites each viewer to have their own experience and interpretation of the piece. “There’s a story behind the title, Darlings, but it’s not important to know the story to enjoy the work,” says Lorentz. His goal is to encourage the viewer to have their own ideas. “Find what you want to find here.”
One hidden element viewers can find on the sculpture is a drawing created by his son. “When you look at my work, sometimes you’ll find little Easter eggs or drawings that my son has done,” says Lorentz. “Sometimes they get washed off when I clean them, sometimes I don’t have the heart to remove them.” The drawing can be found in the inner part of the rectangular frame, on the lower right side.
In speaking of his influences, Lorentz, the West Coast Studio Manager for world-renowned artist Mark di Suvero, says he was highly influenced by the works of American sculptor David Best, as well as other artists, including those whose works are also installed in Windsor—the late Bruce Johnson, Peter Forakis, and Robert Ellison. “It’s an honor to have my sculpture in your community—our community—adjacent to these other artists that I’ve always looked up to.”