Client: Private Client
Location: Durango, CO, United States
Completion date: 2021
Artwork budget: $40,000
Project Team
sculptor
Jeff Glode Wise
Future Wise
videographer & welding assistant
Emily Ciszek
Creative Conspiracy
rigging
Kenan Harvey
carpentry
Jose Diaz
Overview
“Tango Ethereal” is a floating sculpture balanced on the tip of a steel arc. Initially, the site for this piece was a massive boulder perched next to a public highway. I first drilled 3 holes into the rock and epoxied in steel pins to receive the welded steel arc which is 16′ long and arches 25′ above the roadway. The sculpture consists of 2 independently balanced forms, joined together in a delicate dance of motion. The powder coated mango orange form is mounted with round reflectors that twinkle in the sunlight and dance like fireflies in the lightshine of nighttime cars. The tapered spiral of the burgundy form ends with a faceted glass crystal.
Goals
This sculpture has now appeared in 3 different venues, the 1st being it's installation on the arch, overhanging a public roadway. It then moved to Space Gallery in Denver, which has a very large enclosed space where it hung from the ceiling as part of my exhibition, "Improbable Flight" in 2021. It is currently installed in downtown Colorado Springs, suspended in the 60' high atrium of a skyscraper. This exhibition will be completed in the spring of 2023 and after that I hope to find a permanent home for the piece in a hotel or hospital lobby, or in a public plaza.
Process
The initial site for this sculpture was the steel arch I installed which hangs over a public roadway. One of the main concepts was to erect the arch, and the artwork hanging from it, using only human power and ingenuity, without the use of a forklift. The sculpture weighs 200 pounds and was hoisted into place using a block and tackle.
Additional Information
Because of the open weblike structure of the sculpture, one can see through the piece, viewing the back and front simultaneously, giving it a shimmering amorphous quality. The sculpture could be hung by cables from an interior or exterior atrium or it could be suspended from the tip of a steel arc which is mounted to the floor or ground and a foundation pad. The arc would be purchased separately. Please note that the budget of $40,000 for this piece is only for the sculpture itself and does not include installation.