Feature Details

Name: Olé

Description: The artwork is comprised of two parts: Aton and Floribunda. Aton by definition is the disk of the sun, regarded as a deity in ancient Egyptian mythology. A 5’ diameter aluminum disc frames glass roses that shoot out from the surface like solar flares. Each rose is attached to a pipe stem threaded through hieroglyphic punctures cut in the surface of the disc. The stems continue through the disc and braid into a 12 foot long ‘stream’ trailing through the lobby space. Roses, leaves and thorns adorn this ‘stem stream’. The inspiration for Aton is from two sources and the meanings prompted by their overlay are multifaceted. Framed by the disc, the rose may represent passion & friendship (red & yellow), solar flares (blossoms framed by the disc), streams of thought (intertwined stems), problems & challenges (thorns), and, perhaps, as the mystic poet Rumi might ascribe—an inner luminosity essential to the rose itself. The second piece of Olé is Floribunda (a popular rose cultivar group) located on fireplace chimney. This element is a metal piece with water jet cut hieroglyphics mounted on the chimney with a stream of glass roses randomly placed from mantle to ceiling. The blown glass and aluminum artwork explores the natural world in the context of the world of knowledge and reason – historic and contemporary.