Whirlybird Cascade by Nathan Johansen captures a fleeting moment in nature—the quiet, spiraling descent of a maple seed carried by the wind.
Inspired by the familiar “whirlybird” seeds found throughout Utah, the sculpture transforms this small, often overlooked event into a striking visual form. Suspended between motion and stillness, the piece evokes both movement and inevitability as the seed journeys from sky to earth.
Johansen’s work is deeply rooted in the patterns and cycles of the natural world. Seeds, plants, birds, and insects serve as recurring forms in his sculptures, reflecting growth, transformation, and the interconnectedness of life. Through simplified yet expressive shapes, he draws attention to the universal rhythms that often go unnoticed in everyday experience.
A lifelong resident of Utah, Johansen earned his BA in Fine Art from Brigham Young University. He has spent more than 30 years in the art casting industry, including extensive work coordinating fine art casting at Metal Arts Foundry. This technical expertise is evident in the precision and durability of his sculptural work.
Now working full-time through Johansen Studios, he continues to explore the symbolic language of nature through sculpture. His work invites viewers to slow down, observe more closely, and recognize the beauty and meaning embedded in even the smallest elements of the natural world.
Website johansenstudios.weebly.com
Tree Phases Too – 2025
$12,000 – 6′ x 28″ x 18″ – bronze, steel
Sponsored by Vantage Real Estate
Tree Phases Too is a depiction of several different developmental stages of a tree. The seed form at the bottom of the sculpture, has sprouted and is growing upward, encountering obstacles as it pushes through the soil, represented by the layered, cast shale. See the trunk of a mature tree, with its broadened, firmer foundation and the indication of cut off branches as well as the evidence of nails, driven in for some now, unknown purpose. The tree will send away the ripe, winged seed in the hope of perpetuation as it spirals back down to earth, to be buried in the soil ready to repeat this process all over again!
The depiction of earth layers are thin layers of actual shale stone while the sprout and seed were modeled in wood. For strength, all the parts were then molded and cast in bronze for insertion in the steel trunk.
Previous Entries
Cherry Bark Vessel – 2024
$5,800 – 24” X 17” X 9” – Bronze
This piece captures the wonderful natural curling of bark as it separates from a dead limb or the trunk of a cherry tree. Even in this final cycle of a cherry tree’s life, the very forms of death provide the beautiful, graceful form that is “Cherry Bark Vessel.”
Maple Seed – 2023
Maple trees are common in Utah. Every year these trees produce thousands of winged seeds that develop and grow until they are ripe and ready to fly away from the mother tree in a “whirly-bird” flying fashion. These flying seeds seek space somewhere in the earth to grow, to propagate the maple tree. “Maple Seed” is a sculptural expression of one of these winged, flying seeds. The part that grows is facing down, seeking purchase in suitable soil. This part of the seed is depicted with a green patina color, suggesting the promise of life. The wing portion is abstractly deteriorating and changing, its job complete. This portion has changed to brown, earthy tones, as it returns to Mother Earth.
Lithic Bird – 2022
This sculpture is part of my Lithic Art exploration, created by adapting the stone knapping techniques of primitive cultures. Bird shapes are common images and symbols in these cultures. The elegant lines of resting birds are rendered in this sculpture.
Utah Burr – 2021
