People drive through Ute Pass every day, unaware that Green Mountain Falls is home to a collection of world-class art.

Dr. José Antonio Arellano and Green Box Arts aim to change this by providing free art walks every Saturday in August and September.

Arellano is an Associate Professor of English at the U.S. Air Force Academy, but in his free time, he teaches people about art.

“My own love of art has driven my passion. I grew up yearning for it. We were relatively poor in Chicago. Art opened up my experience of the world.”

The walks differ from other art tours by immersing people in nature.

“These amazing pieces are uniquely situated in a beautiful landscape,” Arellano said. “People resonate with how the art is in conversation with the scenery.”

“José has a real gift,” said tour participant Amy Wolin of Woodland Park. “He inspires awe through the stories behind the art, the artist’s perspective, the people’s observations, the outdoors. It all comes together in something really special. I want to go again!”

While some of the art is permanent, others are replaced each year to allow new artists to reinvent the space.

“Each artist brings their own practice,” Arellano said, “always revitalizing the art so it doesn’t become stale.”

He delves into artist motivations. Some works arise out of an artist’s struggle to create again after a trauma or a difficult health diagnosis. Others witnessed their parents push away their own artistic tendencies because they believed art wasn’t practical.

Billy Joe Miller, creator of “Open House,” was horrified when his father told him, “One day the ‘Joe’ will drop from your name. Then the ‘y’ will drop from Billy. Then you will just be Bill Miller, the businessman.”

Arellano goes deeper, sharing what each piece feels like. This one “invokes what it feels like to experience the sky.” That one “feels like a portal.” Another “feels like a performance.”

Some of the art doesn’t feel like art at all. A unique work is “The Managers,” by Molly Rideout, a collection of public writing on the windows of the historic Lakeview Terrace hotel.

In creating the piece, Rideout addressed two challenges: how to capture the stories of the many women who managed the hotel and how to make their stories visible to the public. Her solution was a series of micro essays printed on the terrace windows.

It may be surprising that a prominent work could be referred to as a “rescue.” Yet “Communication X9,” a 43-foot sculpture that overlooks the Horse Wellness Meadow, shares a story similar to its equine neighbors, many of which are discarded performance horses.

The sculpture is a stainless-steel tower by Yaacov Agam that originally stood outside a building in Chicago. But when new owners didn’t want the sculpture, it became a work of art in need of a home.

Other works have a colorful backstory. “Schulhof’s Curve” by Richard Serra, is a smaller version of “Tilted Arc,” which stood in Federal Square in New York in the 1980s. The controversial piece was designed to disrupt foot traffic, leading to a nationally publicized court case. The artist refused to relocate the piece and it was cut up and never displayed again.

“There is an ethos,” Arellano said of how artwork is chosen for Green Mountain Falls. “It feels like it belongs here.”

Two tour routes are available. Register online at greenboxarts.org or by calling 719-465-3065.