Intended for short stay, Conservatory of Flowers sculpture to take up permanent residence

Five years after it first debuted on the lawn at the San Francisco Conservatory of Flowers, sculptor Jean-Michel Othoniel’s sculpture “La Rose des Vents” has been formally granted a permanent home there.

The piece, a three-dimensional, kinetic knot of golden orbs, first came to the park in September 2015, in what was intended to be a temporary display lasting through 2016.

At the time, the display was sponsored by local gallery 836M. Now, its owners, Julie and Sébastien Lépinard, have made a gift of the sculpture to the city.

“One of [the Lépinards’] goals has been to merge their love of French culture” with their life in San Francisco, said 836M spokesperson Liam Passmore. “They feel very strongly about moving art through the circulatory system [of the city].”