The Forks by Isaac Witkin

About Pgh Murals
Spreadsheet of Pittsburgh Public Art and blog archives
Map of Pittsburgh Public Art

The Forks is owned by the Carnegie Museum of Art. The Smithsonian includes this description of the piece in its Collections Search:

Silver–colored aluminum abstract piece meant to symbolize the area known as the fork of the Ohio where Pittsburgh had its beginnings. Pittsburgh was founded at the convergence of the Ohio, Allegheny, and Monongahela rivers and later flourished as a vital industrial region. This sculpture is formed in welded, cast aluminum to produce a structure that reflects the force of the rivers and the metal industries it generated.

This 14 foot high sculpture was originally commissioned by the Alcoa Foundation for Allegheny Landing Sculpture Park. When the park was designed in 1983, the designated theme for the artwork was labor and industry. The Post Gazette art critic Donald Miller described the piece as suggesting molten metal, which represents the city’s industrial heritage well.