Moon Boat & Night Sky Glass

Pat Benincasa's "Moon Boat & Night Sky Glass" is a visual nocturne.  The sculpture depicts a poetic image of an empty boat perched against rocks on a moonlit night.  The scene evokes a mood of quiet reverie.  The glass boat rests diagonally on actual rocks, which creates a contrast of the translucent and solid materials.  Water splashes of clear


and textured, pale blue and green glass wash off the boat and rocks.  On two sides, gentle arcs of blue glass, the night sky, curve outward, and in the upper corner, a silver moon casts amber reflections onto the crashing waves.  

The steel tubing, fabricated by John Nagy, framing "Moon Boat & Night Sky Glass" allows for asymmetrical open spaces.  These areas, combined with the sculpture's placement inside the vestibule, parallel to the glass wall of the Federal Building in Kansas City, Missouri, encourage viewers to look through Benincasa's work to the outdoors.  The effect is to the natural scenery into the background of the sculpture.  The location also enables the work to respond to natural illumination, which animates the glass and produces variegated reflections onto the floor.