Client: MTA Arts and Design

Overview

Inheritance: In Memory of American Glass is a permanent public work, commissioned by the NYC Metropolitan Transit Authority, Arts and Design, and installed on the Ditmas Avenue stop of the F subway station in Brooklyn, New York.

The installation features 30 glass panels, arranged in six compositions of five panels. Each panel of glass was made through a process of screenprinting stained glass pigments and sandblasting small areas for dimension and quality of color and light. The panels were then placed in insulated glass units. Each panel measures 30 x 48 inches.

Goals

This project was an artwork integration into an existing site that occurred simultaneously with a complete station rehab. The artwork was essential to the rehab and serves as the focal point of this above ground station. The artwork was created to be relevant to the site and the community.

Process

NYC MTA Arts and Design is an incredible organization who made the process simple. They wanted to artwork to be as successful as possible and were very easy to work with. Glasmaleri Peters in Paderborn Germany fabricated the piece. They translated my design beautifully and their expert knowledge in the medium ensured the success of the project.

Additional Information

Inheritance references patterns derived from those of American household glass objects, including depression glass, carnival glass, and early American pressed glass. These glass objects were popular during the late nineteenth century until about the mid-twentieth century. The objects were beautiful and widely available to people of all social classes due to the method of production, where molten glass was pressed into a mould to quickly make multiples- unlike their more precious predecessor, cut crystal. I have therefore come to think of these objects and their patterns as symbols of the American dream.