curtain wall

Artist Anne Lindberg worked in collaboration with Helix Architecture + Design to create Curtain Wall, a glass installation that spans four floors of the circulation core of the Richard Bolling Federal Building.  Lindberg’s design was inspired by the checkerboard pattern of the building’s exterior façade, along with a desire to bring color and light into the space.  As the artwork’s title implies, the glass wall functions much like a curtain wall, an architectural term for a non-structural, often transparent or translucent outer covering of a building.  The title also reflects Lindberg’s interest in giving the impression of an undulating wall of curtains swaying to and fro as visitors travel up and down the building’s escalators.  Lindberg achieved this effect by etching select panels with a vertical pattern that mimics curtain folds, and then printing the glass with vivid bands of alternating colors.

Drawing inspiration from the world around her, Lindberg is best known for creating immersive sculptural installations with fine thread and intricate graphite drawings that are meant to provoke emotional, visceral and perceptual responses in viewers.  With Curtain Wall, Lindberg pursued these same artistic goals in new materials and on a monumental scale.