Amethyst Aerie
Artist: Jon Kuhn (American, b. 1949)
Date: 1991
Dimensions:
H: 20 1/2 in.; W: 6 1/2 in.; D: 7 in.
Medium: Cut, polished, and laminated glass
Classification: Glass
Credit Line: Gift of the Estate of Ruth D. Vinney
Object number: 2011.13
Label Text:Inspired by his interests in Eastern mysticism and architecture, as well as personal meditative experiences, Kuhn’s large crystalline sculpture resembles a pillar of sparkling light. To achieve this effect, Kuhn does not shape his glass forms while hot, but instead cuts, polishes, and fuses cold glass from the inside out. Comprised of thousands of tiny shards of amethyst glass, Amethyst Aerie takes in surrounding light, reflecting and refracting it back into space, causing the piece to change color when viewed from different angles in different environments. By taking in, altering, and releasing the light that falls upon it, the Aerie transforms both itself and the environment in which it is placed. The artist says of his work that, “the pieces, in a sense, become architectural models for an inner world, possibly a better world.”
Not on view
In Collection(s)