A group of sculptures by Jack Zajac...

A group of sculptures by Jack Zajac will be temporarily installed on the plaza of the new Irvine Civic Center in late winter or early spring for a six-to-nine-month period. Zajac, whose work in bronze and marble often incorporates skull and animal imagery, has been a fixture on the Southern California art scene since the ‘50s.

The $30,000 project, to be funded by private donations, was organized by Irvine’s Art in Public Places Advisory Board at the suggestion of local residents who own works by Zajac and will be lending some to the exhibit.

According to board chairman David Price, at least nine pieces by the artist will be on view at the Civic Center, due to open in late January. Smaller pieces and drawings by the artist will be displayed indoors.

Price said board proposals are normally made by residents who “have a sculpture in mind or a (site) or, in this case, an artist.”

The board has been in the process of developing an art program for the civic center, and Price said, “What I think the Zajac exhibit does is bring an awareness (that) . . . City Hall can be a place for art.”