At the beginning of the month, the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts (PAFA) opened its newest civic space, Lenfest Plaza, near its historic building on Broad Street, and they’re not done yet. By the end of the month, they will be adding an additional installation, “Grumman Greenhouse,” as the inaugural work in Lenfest Plaza’s temporary exhibitions program.

So far the plaza, designed by Philadelphia-based, internationally renowned landscape architecture firm OLIN, consists of a stage, a platform for temporary installations, benches, lighting and specially designed concrete pavers with the names of notable graduates and action verbs associated with art making. The design is simple and draws attention to Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts as a historic beacon of creative thought.

The centerpiece of Lenfest Plaza is a 51-foot sculpture by Claes Oldenburg, entitled “Paint Torch.” The sculpture depicts a massive paintbrush tilted at a 60-degree angle into the sky. A giant 6-foot-wide dollop of paint rests beneath the sculpture on the ground of the plaza. Bathed in light at nighttime, the brush takes on the appearance of a torch as well, which helps lend part of its name. This is Oldenburg’s first large-scale sculpture to incorporate light sources, but it’s certainly not his first work in Philly. In fact, at four Oldenburg sculptures, including the nearby landmark of the giant clothespin, Philadelphia boasts more public works by the artist than any city in the world.

Coming soon to Lenfest is also a temporary sculpture by Jordan Griska. The location is a temporary platform on the plaza for approximately yearlong, site-specific installations. The first such installation is Griska’s “Grumman Greenhouse,” a Cold War-era submarine-bombing airplane converted into a working greenhouse. The greenhouse has been met with installation delays due to weather, but the final placement is scheduled for today, October 20, 2011. The plane itself appears to be smashing into the platform, but the inside of the plane will be home to edible plants, provided by the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society. The plants will then be provided to City Harvest, which feeds low-income families in the region.

Lenfest Plaza is part of the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts and is located between 118 and 128 N. Broad St.