$2.5 Million “Oasis” Depicts Brea’s Oil History

This past week, the word oasis has garnered a new meaning; it’s the name of Brea’s biggest and most expensive piece of public art. Douglas Hollis and his late wife, Anna Valentina Murch, designed the piece that is valued at around $2.5 million.

The gargantuan sculpture features aluminum quills that are a representation of grasshopper-style oil pumps, a tribute to the city’s rich oil history. The pieces move in the wind, are lit from below, and according to Hollis, “mimic the oil pumps that still proliferate in that area.”

La Floresta, a development of 1,100 residential units, parks and a shopping center, funded the project as the city law requires any property over $1.5 million to donate 1 percent of the total value to public art. Oasis took a decade to produce and is now an addition to the city’s portfolio of more than 150 pieces of public art.