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Drawing from Romanesque and Cistercian religious architecture, Kelly designed this 2,715 square building with 33 mouth-blown colored glass windows structured into three unique designs: “tumbling squares,” “starburst,” and “color grid.” This luminous work provides viewers the opportunity to contemplate the transcendent qualities of light, color and form, motifs Kelly continually explored over the course of his life.
Goals
Kelly wanted to create an architectural structure which viewers can inhabit; a place where they can directly experience tangible manifestations of shape, light, and color. He hoped viewers would find peace and tranquility in his “secular chapel.”
Process
Our artisans in Munich worked closely with the artist, staying true to every aspect of his vision for the project. Kelly carefully crafted each window color. Mayer of Munich achieved his unique and gem- like palette by mixing multiple layers of glass.
Additional Info
In January 2015, Ellsworth Kelly gifted the Blanton a design concept for his most monumental work: the first and only building the artist designed, as well as the last project before his death in December 2015.
Art matters. Attention to the details of our environment leads to love of place, which brings us to take responsibility for the spaces where we live and work. And by extension, the people with whom we live and work. And by extension, to our local communities, our cities, our nations, and our world.
We champion the role of artists in our society. We need artists to provide us with inspiration, creativity, and imagination, and to help us envision a better world.
Architects and designers know that remarkable design can change everything. They connect the dots across disciplines, collaborating with artists to make the world a more beautiful place. They are the ultimate patrons of the arts.
In the process, design professionals promote imagination and creativity, and through their commissions, make original art integral to and accessible in people's lives.
Art in our public and private spaces helps us fight ordinary buildings, ordinary streets, ordinary cities. We celebrate the extraordinary.
The architecture of our buildings and the design of our interiors affect our happiness and well-being. Each of us deserves a daily dose of inspiration.