Client: Gordon Food Service New Headquarters

Location: Wyoming, MI, United States

Completion date: 2012

Artwork budget: $45,000

Project Team

Artist

Lynda Cole

Client

Gordon Food Service

Art Consultant

William M Potter

William M Potter, Inc

Overview

I was hired for this commission because of similar work the designer saw at Art Prize 2011 where I won third prize for the original “Rain.” It is made of over 8000 four inch square pieces of silver leaf on DuraLar. The squares shimmer and move gently with ambient air motion. The whole sculpture “Rain” can be made to rotate by hanging from 1 point or the sculpture can be held stationary by hanging from it from 4 points (as was done in Rain GFS).

Goals

Since Rain GFS hangs in the center of the main floor atrium in the newly constructed GFS Headquarters building I think the integration was quite important. It is the centerpiece of the atrium and reflects the sunlight that pours into the space. Shadows are cast on surrounding walls.

Process

I worked through a designer, Lorene Roskamp of Lauren James Studio in Grand Rapids, MI to sort out the dimensions and other details. A structural engineer, William Potter, helped me arrive at the materials to use for hanging and some support details. A third collaborator, Paul Malboeuf, helped with the installation along with the final interior construction crew of the GFS building.

Additional Information

The 4" square pieces of silver leaf/DuraLar look fragile but are not. The silver leaf is coated with polyurethane which protects the silver leaf and also stops the oxidation of the silver leaf. Each square has a fabricated, stainless steel holder sitting under the square. These holders serve the purpose of holding the square in place on its monofilament line and adding a design element.