Client: NYU Langone Health

Overview

A site specific commission for the new Alumni Hall renovation at NYU Langone Medical Center, CHRYSALIS is inspired by the interdisciplinary context of Complexity Theory. The sculpture harnesses a self-contained formation to emphasize the temporality of complex, adaptive biological systems in a gesture of relational moments. Dynamic systems under constant change, complex adaptive systems exist in a process of perpetual unfolding, offering a vision of emergence and adaptation within relational feedback loops.

1436 powder coated stainless steel spheres, 1102 stainless steel cables, custom hardware
12’ 7″ W x 38’ 9″ L x 12’ 2” H

Goals

Speaking to the dynamic, innovative research activities occurring at NYU Langone Medical Center, CHRYSALIS simultaneously provides a radiant, poetic vision for an intimate contemplation of how our entangled interactions impact our collective health and well-being.

CHRYSALIS activates a dense, complex formation consisting of (1436) hollow, 4-inch diameter, brushed, colored stainless-steel spheres, suspended from (1102) 1/16”stainless-steel cables over 3.7 miles in linear feet. Juxtaposed at a staggered orientation to the video wall below, the piece spans deep into the space, crossing the visual plane of the column extending its gestural movement towards the exterior façade. Mezzanine views are emphasized with the form reaching upward towards the viewer, while the distance view from each position reveals unique, complex perspectives unfolding for a mobile audience.

Process

Working closely with the Design Team at Ennead and stakeholders at NYU Langone Health, an extensive design phase collaboration provided an iterative process to arrive at the final form.

Taking Complexity Theory into the sculpture’s digital modeling, the piece premiers a new studio-developed algorithm. Augmenting this algorithmic process with a hand-based approach, every point in space was then digitally sculpted by the artist before physically produced in the studio in an intricate hand-assembly process.

CHRYSALIS embodies a space of ‘becoming’, where the process of developing unfolds over time, connecting a place of healing and science to our celestial and molecular selves.