Artist: Deborah Butterfield
Installed: 1995
Medium: Bronze
Park: Swope Park
KCMO’s One Percent for the Arts Program

Deborah Butterfield’s horses can be found in major museums across America. But in the Kansas City Zoo, there’s more to her sculpture than meets the eye. At first glance, Bonfire (reclining horse) and Meridian (standing horse) appear to be merely curving vines and pieces of bleached driftwood. Take a step closer and you’ll realize they are actually cast bronze–masterfully disguised to replicate their original organic forms. In addition, an emotional interplay exists between these two life-size horses that have been placed together in close proximity to the living creatures around them.