Repainting set for Mpls. Sculpture Garden cherry

Spoonbridge and Cherry
The Spoonbridge and Cherry sculpture in the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden. The sculpture was created by the husband-and-wife artistic team of Claes Oldenberg and Coosje van Bruggen. The cherry has been temporarily removed for repairs.
MPR Photo/Steve Mullis

There won't be a cherry on top of the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden's signature Spoonbridge for the next few weeks.

The one-ton cherry is scheduled to be removed Monday for repainting and overhauling.

The fountain sculpture by Claes Oldenburg and Coosje van Bruggen features a giant aluminum spoon holding a cherry. A crane and flatbed truck will maneuver through the sculpture garden to remove the cherry, then take it offsite for refurbishing.

The cherry will receive marine-grade paint to match the original red used when the sculpture was created in the 1980s.

It's the third time Spoonbridge and Cherry has been repainted since its installation in 1988. The last repainting was in 2006.

The cherry should be back in mid-April.

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