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Acrylic Prism by Robert Irwin
Photo Credit© 2013 Philipp Scholz Rittermann
Acrylic Prism
Photo Credit© 2013 Philipp Scholz Rittermann

Acrylic Prism

Artist
Year1974
Classification sculpture
Medium cast acrylic
Dimensions396 x 30 in. (1005.8 x 76.2 cm)
Credits Acquired through the Art in Architecture Program
Fine Arts Collection
U.S. General Services Administration
Location
  • Installed within the courthouse's light-filled lobby is Robert Irwin's Acrylic Prism, a nearly transparent, 33-foot-high sculpture that he and master art fabricator Jack Brogan completed in 1974.  Their casting of such a large acrylic object is a remarkable technical accomplishment.  Its prismatic shape and highly polished surface refract light, casting spectrums of color across the courthouse lobby and appearing to shift the positions of space and objects viewed through the sculpture.  The sculpture is a groundbreaking example of Irwin’s career-spanning interest in art as a catalyst for the perception of light and space.