Artwork copyright Harold Balazs. Photo courtesy of Washington State Arts Commission, 2018.

Artwork copyright Harold Balazs. Photo courtesy of Washington State Arts Commission.

Artwork copyright Harold Balazs. Photo courtesy of Washington State Arts Commission, 2023.

Discover, 2004

Harold Balazs
American (born 1928, died 2017)

Location: Lewis and Clark High School, Spokane

About the Artwork

Discover by Harold Balazs depicts a canoe with abstracted people paddling – a subject inspired by the artwork’s location at Lewis and Clark High School. This piece is more realistic than most of Balazs' work, but it also uses a certain style of shapes that are found in his other artworks.

This artwork was acquired for the State Art Collection in partnership with Spokane Public Schools.

About the Artist

Celebrated Spokane, Washington-based artist Harold Balazs (1928-2017) created abstract sculptures and public art installations in a variety of materials.
Born in Ohio, Harold Balazs's family moved to Spokane in the 1940s. He received a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1951 from Washington State College (now Washington State University) in Pullman, Eastern Washington. Many of his works are prominently featured in Spokane's public spaces. He was honored with a Washington State Governor's Arts and Heritage Award in 1988. Balazs continued to produce artworks into his late eighties, saying "I make stuff because it's better than not making stuff."