BANGOR – There’s a huge buck running wild through the streets of downtown Bangor. It has taken a breather in front of Key Plaza on Water Street, and that’s probably where it’ll stay.

In reality, the deer is made of recycled steel, and was crafted by New York City-based artist Wendy Klemperer. The 10-by-10-foot piece, titled “Red Deer Running,” was commissioned by Epstein Properties, and was installed in its permanent location Tuesday afternoon. Klemperer was on hand, dressed in a Carhartt jumpsuit and a protective helmet, to weld the finishing touches in place.

“What I really love about this sculpture, and about sculpture in general, is that you can see this incredible energy in it. There’s a real, visceral kind of action contained in it,” said Carol Epstein of Epstein Properties. “I like art that startles people, and makes them have a reaction. I like how it engages people.”

Epstein worked with Pownal-based art consultant June LaCombe to commission the piece, the second work of public art that Epstein Properties has erected. The first was the colorful mobile “Urban Acrobats,” created by Bar Harbor artist Melita Westerlund, which still hangs in the four-story interior atrium of Key Plaza.

“Wendy is really an amazing artist. She’s been in shows all over the country, and she’s now doing serious work in Maine,” said LaCombe, who works with sculptors from all over the state. “This piece is just right for its location. The scale is perfect.”

Klemperer uses recycled steel to create her large, graceful sculptures. She tries to create pieces that work with the shape of the raw material, rather than altering them to suit her needs, though she will weld as needed. As she stated during the installation Tuesday, she has been known to comb through construction sites and scrap yards to find pieces of metal, especially rebar, which is used to reinforce concrete.

“Often times they’ll give it away for free, but sometimes I have to get there early to make sure I’m there before the recycling guy comes. I’ve almost gotten arrested before,” she said, adding that the steel used for “Red Deer Running” came from several places, including a construction site on the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway, and from farms in New Hampshire.

Klemperer spends her summers in New England, and teaches classes at the Carving Studio and Sculpture Center in West Rutland, Vt. In the summer of 2009, a solo show of her large metal animal sculptures titled “Re-Imagined” will be unveiled at the Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens in Boothbay.

“My hope is that this will enliven the landscape that surrounds the building,” said Epstein. “I can’t wait to see what it looks like with snow on it.”