Dew Point 18

Artist Maya Lin (American, b. 1959)

Date2007

DimensionsSmallest piece) H: 1 in. (2.5 cm); W: 3 in. (7.6 cm); Depth: 3 in. (7.6 cm);
Largest piece) H: 3 in. (7.6 cm); W: 15 in. (38.1 cm); Depth: 15 in. (38.1 cm)

MediumMold-shaped glass; cut and polished under base

ClassificationGlass

Credit LineGift of The Georgia Welles Apollo Society

Object number

2012.9A-R

Not on View

DescriptionFloor installation consisting of 18 spherical glass elements in varying sizes formed of colorless glass. 1. Floor installation consisting of 18 spherical glass elements in varying sizes formed of colorless glass.

Label TextExploring glass as a metaphor for water, Ohio native Maya Lin exploits the ability of glass to suggest the appearance of liquid in her installation Dew Point 18. The dew point is the temperature below which the water vapor in a volume of humid air at a constant barometric pressure will condense into liquid water. Surface tension of condensed water is responsible for the shape of the liquid droplets we call dew. Lin is an architect and artist known for her work in sculpture and landscape art; in fact, she is considered one of the most important architectural designers of the 21st century (most famous for her powerful Viet Nam Veterans Memorial Wall in Washington, D.C.). Most of her landscape installations are site specific. Her focus is on the emotions a space evokes and what her work can symbolize to those who experience it.Published References"Recent Important Acquisitions", New Glass Review, 34, 2013, repr. (col.) p. 116.Exhibition HistoryChicago, The Arts Club of Chicago, Maya Lin, February 1– April 23, 2010.

New Brunswick, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, Jane Voorhees Zimmerli Art Museum, Water, September 10, 2010–January 2, 2011.

Pittsburgh, The Heinz Architectural Center, Maya Lin, February 11–May 13, 2012.

Comparative ReferencesSee also Maya Lin: Systematic Landscapes, Ed. by Carolyn Vaughan. Henry Art Gallery, University of Washington, Seattle, 2006.