September 24th, 2025
Scottsdale Arts welcomes the newest public artwork to the Scottsdale Public Art Permanent Collection with “Wholeness” by Maria Salenger/Jones Studio at Scottsdale Fire Station 612.
CAPTION: Scottsdale Public Art and artist Maria Salenger/Jones Studio installed “Wholeness” at Scottsdale Fire Station 612. Photo: Brian Passey
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — Scottsdale Arts welcomes the newest public artwork to the Scottsdale Public Art Permanent Collection with “Wholeness” by Maria Salenger/Jones Studio at Scottsdale Fire Station 612.
“Wholeness” celebrates firefighters’ lives of service in the desert mountains, chaparral and urban areas. The artwork, which was created with weathering steel, is laser-cut to allow sunlight to cast shadows through the mesquite, desert grass, desert brush and creosote in the patio’s steel panels.
Victoria Sajadi, public art manager for Scottsdale Public Art, a department of the nonprofit Scottsdale Arts, said the artwork came to life after the artist spoke with firefighters, visited the Hall of Flame Museum in Phoenix and spent time observing the local flora.
“Each panel represents half of a Maltese cross, a powerful symbol in firefighting,” Sajadi said. “As sunlight filters through the cutouts, shadows complete the crosses on the patio where firefighters gather. My hope is that ‘Wholeness’ resonates with both the firefighters who serve our community and the public who will experience the artwork in their travels.”
In the interviews, Salenger learned that family, team and dedication to bettering community are critical facets of life as a firefighter. Trucks, stations and badges have a culture of being customized to express identity in correlation to the neighborhoods they serve.
Fire Station 612 is located at the intersection of Hayden Road and Mayo Boulevard. It’s an area where the city meets the mountains, surrounded by unique, native plants. The new fire station is next to a drainage channel. While dry most of the year, it collects water from the mountains with large volumes during rain events, resulting in the shrubs looking dormant in summer and flourishing in spring.
“Since the new station will serve the McDowell Mountain Preserve area, abstract images of native plants like brittle bush and desert grasses are illustrated in the artwork,” Salenger said. “My favorite aspect of the project is how sunlight that changes throughout the day and year will create a dynamic shadow pattern on the fire station’s patio, as well as the public-facing sidewalk.”
Duality was also a key aspect of firefighters’ lives that Salenger wanted to highlight. Stations, like Fire Station 612, are places for lives to merge, to support each other and to celebrate together, such as on holidays. To spotlight this as best she could, Salenger created an artwork that could express family, team and dedication to bettering community.
“The changing image reflects on dualities in the firefighters’ lives, and the challenge of being part of a vocation that demands two lives, and two families, of each firefighter — your personal life and family and the life and family that forms at the station between firefighters — all of which are served with unwavering dedication,” Salenger said.
To learn more about Scottsdale Public Art, visit ScottsdaleArts.org.
MEDIA CONTACT: Sydney Ritter | SydneyR@ScottsdaleArts.org | 480-874-4663