Sea Flower
Artist
James Surls
Year1978
Classification
sculpture
Medium
wood and painted steel
Dimensions138 x 252 x 132 in. (350.5 x 640.1 x 335.3 cm)
Credits
Commissioned through the Art in Architecture Program
Fine Arts Collection
U.S. General Services Administration
Fine Arts Collection
U.S. General Services Administration
- With its abstracted evocation of aquatic life, Seaflower pays homage to the sea-faring history of New Bedford. The sculpture's lively organic form appears to float above the entry plaza of the Hastings Keith Federal Building. Although monumental in scale, the sculpture retains a delicate energy, as its weight rests lightly on four small points. The spiny "petals" suggest a living presence that creates and ever-changing pattern of light and shadow within the sculpture and on the surrounding plaza.