Silver Thaw

Ed Carpenter

Redmond City Hall

A sweeping arc of glass and aluminum gestures across the reflecting pool toward the main entrance of Redmond City Hall. Arranged at various angles, the slender stalks of Ed Carpenter’s Silver Thaw recall the wetland grasses along the banks of the Sammamish River, which flows behind the building.

Glass fins on the aluminum pieces not only reinforce the structure of the piece, they change colors throughout the day and night, casting kinetic arrays of light onto the water and adjacent architectural surfaces. The beveled and dichroic glass elements “create fractured views and colorful reflections,” Carpenter says.

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Based in Portland, OR, Carpenter has completed numerous public art projects in the United States and Japan. Though he is primarily a glass artist, his more recent commissions involve many different materials; he considers his work to be as much about natural light as it is about glass. His other 4Culture commissions include Vessel outside the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center.

4Culture managed the artist selection, fabrication, and installation of this artwork as consultants for the City of Redmond.