Denver's Blue Bear

You can't miss it. A giant, bright blue bear stands on its hind legs, peering through the towering glass windows of the Colorado Convention Center as if it's trying to sneak a peek inside. Officially titled "I See What You Mean," the 40-foot-tall sculpture has become one of Denver's most recognizable landmarks — and one of its most photographed.

Created by the late Colorado artist Lawrence Argent and installed in 2005, the playful sculpture transformed the convention center into an unexpected destination, proving that even a civic building can become a work of art. Read on to learn more about the iconic work of art and the artist who brought it to life — including a 2017 interview with Argent himself.

About Lawrence Argent, the Artist Behind Blue Bear

Argent was known for creating monumental, whimsical public sculptures that invited people to stop and wonder. Born in Essex, England, and raised in Melbourne, Australia, the artist moved to the United States in the 1980s after studying art at the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology. He later earned a master's degree in sculpture from the Rinehart School of Sculpture in Baltimore before joining the faculty at the University of Denver in 1993, where he inspired generations of artists and was eventually named professor emeritus.

Argent's playful works can be found around the world — from a 56-foot rabbit at Sacramento International Airport to a towering panda in Chengdu, China — but none is more closely associated with the artist than Denver's beloved "I See What You Mean." Installed in 2005, the curious Blue Bear has become both a symbol of the city and a lasting reminder of Argent's talent for turning everyday places into moments of delight.

Blue Bear by the Numbers

Official name: “I See What You Mean”
Installed: 2005
Height: 40 feet
Weight: About 10,000 pounds
Construction: More than 4,000 fiberglass triangles fitted over a steel frame
Cost: Approximately $395,000

Fun Facts

It almost wasn't blue. The first 3D-printed prototype happened to be made from bright blue plastic. Argent and his wife loved the unexpected color, seeing it as a nod to Colorado's famously blue skies, and decided to keep it. The finished sculpture was coated in a rich lapis lazuli blue, inspired by the rare gemstone found in Colorado.
It was ahead of its time. Argent was an early adopter of digital sculpting, using 3D modeling and printing to design the bear before translating it into thousands of triangular pieces that fit together like a giant puzzle.
It's one of Denver's most recognizable landmarks. Since its installation, Blue Bear has become an unofficial mascot for the city, appearing on postcards, souvenirs and social media feeds.

Where to Get the Best Blue Bear Photos

Whether you're hoping to capture its towering scale or its famously curious expression, these are the best angles to try.

Stand beneath the bear. Looking straight up from the base of the 40-foot sculpture is the best way to appreciate just how enormous it is — and makes for a dramatic photo.
Cross 14th Street. Step back about 50 feet to frame the entire sculpture against the glass façade of the Colorado Convention Center. This classic angle captures Blue Bear doing what it does best (peeking curiously inside).
Go inside the convention center. In the lobby, photograph the bear looking in through the towering windows.

An Interview with Lawrence Argent

Before his death in 2017, we spoke with Argent about the inspiration behind Denver's beloved blue bear, the role of public art and why curiosity was at the heart of his iconic creation.

Visit Denver: How does it feel to be the creator of an artwork that's quickly become a Mile High City icon?

Lawrence Argent: Who would've thought [laughs]? It's interesting — it doesn't happen all the time, that's for sure. Before it was installed, I'd tell people that I was working on a 40-foot blue bear for the Colorado Convention Center , and they'd look at me and say "What - are you working for Disney now?" But once it was up they'd say "Whoa, it's amazing." To me, it's kind of like the bear needs the building, and the building needs the bear.

Visit Denver: What was the genesis of "I See What You Mean" come from?

Lawrence Argent: While toying with the notion of a "Convention Center" and visualizing the vast numbers of people moving through and participating with this environment, my proposal emerged as a core response to the following: Meeting place; Exchange of ideas, transference of information; Regional western art and the thought of what that is from a non-resident's perspective; and the natural surroundings of Colorado. The architecture of [the convention center] is such a dominant presence in the location I thought it best to place a work that did not conflict with the essences of its design or stature, and which would embrace its uniqueness of form and the relationship to the space it occupies. Scale therefore, became an extremely important consideration. I also wanted to bring the mountains (the assumed idea of Colorado) down to Denver to prompt visitors' awareness of the uniqueness of their location.

Visit Denver: Why a bear? Why a giant, curious blue bear, specifically?

Lawrence Argent: There's iconic Colorado imagery — the Rockies, the Flatirons and all that — that I think is a little bit overused, a little passé. So I thought about what it is like to be a resident here and the journey one takes down either corridor (14th St. and Speer Blvd) when one notices there is a convention occurring. I'm always interested in what might be going on in there, the exchange of information, ideas and ideologies. But there's never really any indication from the outside what's going on inside. I had recently seen a photo in the newspaper of a black bear looking into someone's window and that resonated with me. As for the blue color, that was actually an accident - originally the bear was going to reflect the colors of Colorado, with sandstone colors and things like that. But a printout of the design came back blue by mistake, and I thought that was much more exciting. And it was serendipitous, because [I learned later] that the black bear was very important to the Native American Ute tribes that lived in Colorado - and also that one level of spiritual enlightenment for the Utes was the "blue" level.