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Pearl River by Jeff Schmuki
Photo CreditGSA/Mary Margaret Carr
Pearl River
Photo CreditGSA/Mary Margaret Carr

Pearl River

Artist
Year2010
Classification sculpture
Medium terracotta
DimensionsMax: 108 x 1080 x 4 in. (274.3 x 2743.2 x 10.2 cm)
Credits Commissioned through the Art in Architecture Program
Fine Arts Collection
U.S. General Services Administration
Location
  • Jeff Schmuki’s ceramic sculptures are records of his encounters with the natural landscape.  He took inspiration from the Pearl River to create this eponymous artwork that winds along the entry ramp of the courthouse.  Schmuki used maps, aerial photographs, and satellite imagery of the river to plot the meandering course of his Pear River, which he made from clay prospected from several areas of Mississippi.  The artwork comprises more than 200 unique terra cotta tiles, which together form a 300-foot-long sculptural relief.  Schmuki formed the tiles from strips of clay that he stacked and compressed, cut into geometric shapes, allowed to dry, and then kiln fired at 1,830 degrees Fahrenheit.  The assembled artwork presents a series of energetic curves, although upon closer examination it reveals an underlying structure of repeating parallel lines.  The hand-made and roughly textured qualities of Pearl River contrast with the sleek lines and materials of the surrounding architecture.