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Ten sculptures by Massachusetts artist Michael Alfano are turning stretches of Richmond Highway into an outdoor art destination.

The “Faces of Route One” installation was celebrated during a reception hosted by the Southeast Fairfax Development Corporation at Nepenthe Gallery in Hollin Hall. Attendees included Supervisor Rodney Lusk, and Alfano discussed the inspiration behind his work.

Nepenthe Gallery will display an accompanying exhibit of Alfano’s art through April 9. His sculptures along Richmond Highway are scheduled to remain in place through spring 2026.

During his visit, Alfano also met with Mount Vernon High School art students. He gave a presentation at Nepenthe before leading the students on a tour of his sculptures along Route One, according to the gallery’s Carolyn Johnson.

The development corporation initiated and sponsored the project as part of a broader effort to make Richmond Highway more than a transportation corridor. Its public-art projects are intended to transform familiar locations into engaging places that invite people to explore and interact.

Alfano’s sculptures join several other artworks bringing color to the Mount Vernon area. Near Buckman Road, a mural features a rising sun, wave, airplane and bird. Students at Bryant Alternative School completed a mosaic wall in 2017.

Another major addition, Nico Cathcart’s “Fabric of the Community,” was unveiled in November 2023 on the side of Zips Dry Cleaning at 6216 North Kings Highway. Commissioned by the development corporation, the mural honors the Richmond Highway corridor’s cultural history and natural surroundings.

Its central pair of eagles was inspired by bald eagles nesting near the George Washington Memorial Parkway. Images of the Mount Vernon Trail and Woodrow Wilson Memorial Bridge reinforce the area’s connection to the landscape.

Cathcart said she wanted the mural to spotlight the local environment and continuing conservation efforts involving the bald eagles. She also painted local women—including mothers, nurses and other hardworking residents—together in conversation to represent community strength.

In April 2024, Cathcart completed another development corporation-commissioned mural on the east wall of Rising Hope United Methodist Mission Church, next to a 7-Eleven and within view of the highway.

Alfano’s work has also appeared along the Hudson River Waterfront Walkway in Jersey City, where his sculptures stand against the New York City skyline.