Amethyst Aerie

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Amethyst Aerie

Artist Jon Kuhn (American, b. 1949)

Date1991

DimensionsH: 20 1/2 in.; W: 6 1/2 in.; D: 7 in.

MediumCut, polished, and laminated glass

ClassificationGlass

Credit LineGift of the Estate of Ruth D. Vinney

Object number

2011.13

Not on View

Label TextInspired 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.”