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Sea Flower by James Surls
Photo CreditPhoto courtesy of McKay Lodge Fine Arts Conservation Laboratory, Inc.
Sea Flower
Photo CreditPhoto courtesy of McKay Lodge Fine Arts Conservation Laboratory, Inc.

Sea Flower

Artist
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
Location
  • 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.