Client: US Embassy Kosovo

Overview

Commissioned by Art in Embassies for the new U.S. Embassy in Pristina, Kosovo, Margo Sawyer’s Synchronicity Spiral investigates the relationship between color and space, where art, architecture, and landscape architecture converge, to form a unique and memorable environment. The sculpture, made from hand-painted glass fabricated by Franz Mayer of Munich and standing nine feet tall and twenty feet in diameter, brings light, color, and a moment of contemplation to the embassy terrace. Synchronicity Spiral transforms the entire terrace from multiple vantage points, casting colored shadows across the pavement and moving as the day wanes.

Goals

For five decades, Art in Embassies has played a leading role in U.S. public diplomacy through a focused mission of vital cross-cultural dialogue and understanding through the visual arts. Synchronicity Spiral brings American art to Kosovo in the public spaces of the U.S. Embassy in Pristina, the monumental sculpture a testament to art’s ability to transform the relationship between an individual and a space. Synchronicity Spiral further speaks to our shared values in a way that transcends language barriers, engages and inspires audiences, and demonstrates that art can build connections among peoples.

Process

When Art in Embassies contacted Margo Sawyer about creating a commission for the new U.S. Embassy in Pristina, the construction was years from completion and though the plaza was still only an idea, it would need a significant work of art to transform it from place to experience. Multiple forms were proposed but they all included the use of painted glass, with color as both subject and matter. Franz Mayer of Munich was contracted for their glass expertise and fabricated 360 square feet of hand-painted glass at specification to be installed on the terrace, the restraint of shape ceding center stage to the unexpected unions of color.