Camouflage House

Camouflage House by Tom Fruin is a vibrant, kaleidoscopic sculpture composed of reclaimed plexiglass, assembled into a house-like structure that plays with light, color, and perception. Originally part of Fruin’s internationally celebrated Icon series, the piece toured four Santa Barbara County locations—Arroyo Burro Beach, Elings Park, Cachuma Lake, and Orcutt Community Park—before continuing on to new destinations outside the county.

Though titled Camouflage House, the structure is anything but hidden. Its vivid panels in layered hues—crafted from upcycled plexiglass salvaged from a closed Chinese restaurant in Brooklyn—create a glowing presence by day and an illuminated beacon by night. As sunlight filters through its multi-colored walls, and later as it glows from internal lighting after dark, the piece offers viewers a continually shifting visual experience. Astute observers may even spot remnants of signage embedded in the panels, hinting at the material’s former life.

Fruin’s use of salvaged materials not only reflects his “scrappy” and resourceful creative process, but also speaks to themes of transformation, resilience, and reuse. The sculpture’s color palette—ranging from vibrant “Rasta” tones to natural greens and blues—suggests both human expression and environmental context, making Camouflage House feel at once playful, meditative, and deeply rooted in place.

With each installation site across Santa Barbara County, the work invited new interpretations and offered a moment of reflection within the landscape—blending art, architecture, and community interaction into a singular, luminous experience.

Installation Locations in Santa Barbara County: Arroyo Burro Beach, Elings Park, Cachuma Lake, Orcutt Community Park

Medium: Sculpture – Upcycled Plexiglass and Welded Steel

Tom Fruin

Tom Fruin is a renowned artist born in Los Angeles in 1974 and based in Brooklyn, New York. His art is centered around revitalizing materials such as organic glass, steel, and urban construction waste and using them to create symbolic, iconic, and landmark installation artworks like houses, billboards, and flags. Fruin graduated from UCSB with a BA in 1996.

Fruin’s unique and creative approach to art has made him famous for brightening public spaces and city skylines worldwide. One of his most famous public art sculptures is the “Water Tower,” which was originally designed for New York City. The sculpture serves as an emblem of urban culture and presents a fresh interpretation of traditional architecture.