Solar Gray Bronze Riser Piece # 2

Media - 2002.8.9A-B - SAAM-2002.8.9A-B_1 - 64959
Copied Tom Patti, Solar Gray Bronze Riser Piece # 2, 1980, signed ca. 1983, glass, 5 3⁄8 x 3 1⁄4 x 2 1⁄2 in. (13.7 x 8.3 x 6.4 cm), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Eleanor T. and Samuel J. Rosenfeld, 2002.8.9A-B

Artwork Details

Title
Solar Gray Bronze Riser Piece # 2
Artist
Date
1980, signed ca. 1983
Location
Not on view
Dimensions
5 3⁄8 x 3 1⁄4 x 2 1⁄2 in. (13.7 x 8.3 x 6.4 cm)
Credit Line
Gift of Eleanor T. and Samuel J. Rosenfeld
Mediums Description
glass
Classifications
Object Number
2002.8.9A-B
Linked Open Data
https://edan.si.edu/saam/id/object/2002.8.9A-B

Artwork Description

Tom Patti originally experimented with glass by blowing laminated glass cubes into spheres, capturing a bubble inside while retaining the squared edges outside. This progressed into constructing glass "wings" that supported the blown bubble. His meticulous forms are compact yet monumental, suggesting giant columns reproduced in miniature.
Luce Object Quote
"The opening for me is the hidden complexity of something solid that has an interior, a thin wall within a thick wall. The opening appears and disappears as your eye moves over the piece; it's not asking you to look in, it's a three dimensional volume inside a series of two dimensional forms." Tom Patti, American Craft, 1983