A striking modern art piece called Rondelle was installed in January in front of River City Hall on Camino del Rio in Durango.

Joel Jurkens, a Durangoan, donated the metal piece by Lile London to the city in honor of his father, John Jurkens, who founded Octopus Car Wash, a large chain. John Jurkens died in 2013 at age 90.

He served as a pilot in World War II and the Korean War and studied at the Academy of Art in Chicago, Illinois, and the Whitney School of Art in New Haven, Connecticut, before going into business. He moved to Albuquerque from Wisconsin to help build his business.

Joel Jurkens worked with his father in the car wash industry for 30 years.

“He was a father, he became my boss and then he became my best friend,” Jurkens said.

The piece, valued at $10,000, was displayed at an Octopus Car Wash in Farmington until last year, when Jurkens sold the business. Jurkens donated the piece, which reminds him of the Earth, to the city so it could continue to be publicly displayed.

The Public Art Commission decided to display the piece at River City Hall because the building didn’t have any public art, and it has a covered entry that protects the piece from the elements, said Colleen O’Brien, the city’s business development and redevelopment coordinator.

mshinn@durangoherald.com