The most beautiful airport art in America

What to see: Lawrence Argent’s Leap

The standout here is Lawrence Argent’s Leap, installed in 2011. This gigantic red rabbit caught midleap as it bounds towards a suitcase on the floor that can never possibly hold it: a bit of magic, a rabbit from a suitcase instead of a hat. You can see it in the three-story atrium at Terminal B, as it floats suspended near the series of escalators. Made of aluminum, the 56-foot-long rabbit has inspired some to call SMF a “hare-port.” But that’s not the only art you can see here.

Christopher Janney’s Chromatic Oasis found in Terminal A consists of colored glass panels installed overhead that trigger melodic sounds as you walk under them—most people don’t notice and rush through. We also love the rug between Terminal A and the parking garage which portrays a Wayne Thiebaud-esque aerial view of the Sacramento River and the delta, titled Flying Carpet by Seyed Alavi. There’s much more to see as well.

What to see: REACH by Hank Willis Thomas and Coby Kennedy

Installed in April 2023, REACH consists of two monumental arms, one 27 feet long and the other 31 feet long, stretching out in a gesture that signals connectedness and being welcomed with open arms at the end of a journey. The work of artists Hank Willis Thomas and Coby Kennedy, it’s suspended between nine and 34 feet off the ground in the North Escalator Hall. Last year, the Chicago Department of Aviation spent $3.5 million in commissioning artwork from 20 Chicago artists for Terminal 5. Watch for, among other art to be soon installed, Maryam Taghavi’s Spell for Passage, which will be an installation with Qur’anic inscriptions conveying the Islamic Talisman for protection to benefit and protect the passengers who pass by it.

What to see: Alice Aycock’s What the Traveler Needs for Mechanical Operations on the Stars 2001

For 25 years, the airport has invested in its art offerings with more than 20 galleries and many visual arts activations found throughout the seven terminals. A standout is Alice Aycock’s “What the Traveler Needs for Mechanical Operations on the Stars 2001,” a ceiling-hung installation of five suspended elements, many adorned with constellations and star charts. Found in Terminal F, it’s meant to elicit ideas about how the machinery of the universe is operated (a screw and a sifter indicate someone or something is turning the gears!).

Another high point is Ralph Helmick and Stuart Schechter’s “Impulse,” made of 7,800 cast pewter models of birds suspended on 5,302 cables, which have been grouped to form many flying geese and a DC-3 plane, found in Terminal A. Also in that terminal, meta-style, there’s a long row of black and white photographs of art pieces you can find elsewhere in the city, such as Robert Indiana’s 1976 LOVE sculpture.

What to see: HOME by Matthew Mazzotta

Giant flamingo legs and a long-necked head descend from the ceiling, making you feel like you’re underwater in the striking installation HOME by Matthew Mazzotta. The water’s surface is created by metal panels and lighting, which dapples the floor like a lakebed. It was installed in 2022 and can be found in the center of the main terminal. A fun social media game has people wondering if they see Phoebe, the flamingo, blink. Other stellar pieces, among many, are Nick Cave’s monumental beaded tapestry Palimpsest and Mike Mandel’s glass tile mosaic mural Passengers, created with 50 colors of 20 mm Italian glass. Both are found in the economy parking garage lobby.

What to see: Sebastian's Star of Texas (La Estrella de Texas)

This airport offers public art and rotating exhibits and enjoys showcasing the work of Mexican artist Sebastian. A creative take on the Texas “lone star,” his Star of Texas (La Estrella de Texas) is a 14-foot-high installation found just outside the airport to welcome visitors. Painted the artist’s signature red color, the sculpture is made up of five vertical metal elements that lean on each other to create a star in negative space at the top. If you’re a local or your layover happens to coincide, the airport hosts creative cultural programming and performing arts performances through Sat Cultura and SAT Live. Another monumental and impressive installation is the Day Star Archway by Bill Fitzgibbons, comprised of upright wings from a BAC 1-11 airplane, which you can walk through to enter the long-term garage. At night, a computer-controlled LED light system adds drama to the 40-foot-high piece.

What to see: Mustang by Luis Jiménez

Some of Denver’s most interesting art is actually just outside the airport (which in itself is a work of art with its white tented roofline). For instance, Mustang, that famous enormous rearing blue horse with red glowing eyes, has unsettled more than one visitor approaching the airport in the dark. The 32-foot tall fiberglass mustang tragically killed its sculptor, Luis Jiménez, in 2006. While the artist was in the studio, the horse’s head fell on him and severed an artery in his leg; the statue was finished and installed posthumously two years later. A much more calm piece is Field of Air by Ned Kahn, a large-scale sculptural installation of aluminum blades of grass that move with the wind, or Seward Johnson’s trompe-l'œil painted bronze statues Welcome to my Office, showing a reclinining life-sized businessman looking at paperwork. There are other permanent and rotating exhibits as well.

What to see: Hung Liu’s Take Off

The SFO Museum offers rotating exhibits, while the separate San Francisco Arts Commission curates the permanent art you’ll see displayed throughout the airport. One favorite piece is Hung Liu’s 2008 painting Take Off, displayed in the International Terminal, a large 204” x 336” trio showing a boy plunging through water, startling a bird just spreading its wings to take off. Also of note is Janet Echelman’s Every Beating Second, a 2011 ceiling installation made of colored netting that moves with the air within the terminal. It casts its own shadows on the floor below, which Echelman supplemented with her own manually created shadows. The piece was commissioned to help travelers regain their composure after the security checkpoint.

What to see: Duane Hanson’s life-sized The Traveler

This airport offers short exhibits as well as some fun permanent art pieces. Duane Hanson’s life-sized The Traveler, installed in 1986, has made some social media posters pretend they’ve found an exhausted fellow passenger who somehow climbed into a glass case to catch a nap. The statue is so realistic you can even see dirt embedded in the soles of the man’s sneakers. The piece is made of polyester resin and fiberglass, cast from a real person. It can be found in Terminal A near the food court. Other hyperrealistic sculptures by Hanson appear in the Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport and Miami International Airport.

Another important piece in Orlando is Jacob Lawrence’s eight-panel painting Space, Time and Energy. Finally, don’t miss The Moment Vault at Terminal C’s Palm Court, a 360-degree immersive surround experience that places travelers into scenes like submerging underwater with bioluminescent fish or exploring the surface of Mars.

What to see: Nick Cave’s The Air Up There

This airport just got a brilliant makeover in 2023, with a brand-new, spacious complex replacing the old one, which you may recall as somewhat dismal and cramped. And to further grace that new space, modern artwork offers contemplation and invigoration. A great example is Nick Cave’s 500-foot The Air Up There ceiling installation, composed of nearly 3,000 strands, each holding a different wind spinner pendant—13,000 of them—making the Departure Hall sizzle with motion. It was installed in 2023.

Also, check out Soo Sunny Park’s stunning stainless steel and dichroic acrylic Molten Swing, whose title is a play on words honoring jazz musician Bennie Moten. His Moten Swing, Park says, helped establish Kansas City as a UNESCO Creative City of Music, the only one in the U.S. the installation hovers over the escalator to baggage claim. Another must-see is Leo Villareal’s Fountain, located in Retail Concourse A. Composed of a silvery set of arcs, metallic hoops with sequenced LEDs sit in a mirrored pedestal, creating a bowl of light. In Kansas City, Missouri, the “One Percent for Art” program means that 1 percent of public construction costs are earmarked for public art.

What to see: Snoopy and Peanuts gang

Santa Rosa was home to one of the most iconic cartoonists ever, Charles M. Schulz (the museum for him here is well worth a visit). Throughout the airport, you’ll find many Peanuts sculptures to grab a photo with, including one of Snoopy dressed as a pilot himself: the Flying Ace. At the boarding area, there’s a collection of Peanuts comic strips to entertain you while you wait. In 2007, a large bronze statue of Charlie Brown and Linus leaning on a rock wall was installed right by where passengers walk past to enter the terminal. This small airport in wine country offers nonstop flights to 14 destinations, including to Dallas and L.A., but only with airlines whose names start with A: new budget airline Avelo, American Airlines, and Alaska Airlines, which offers a “wine flies free” program.