Paperwork
Austin
24 Texas Architect
5/6 2015
Top Nonreligious
in nature, “Austin” was inspired by Romanesque and Byzantine architecture. Bottom The space employs luminous color to inspire contemplation.
ALL IMAGES COURTESY THE BLANTON MUSEUM OF ART. © 2015 ELLSWORTH KELLY.
Artist Ellsworth Kelly has designed a site-specific installation for The University of Texas at Austin’s Blanton Museum of Art. The 2,715-sf stone building, which Kelly calls “Austin,” is singular in the artist’s career. Kelly designed the structure, its colored glass windows, a slender wooden sculpture, and an installation of 14 black-and-white marble panels. San Antonio’s Overland Partners will act as the architect of record for the project, which will become part of the Blanton’s permanent collection. A capital campaign to raise funds for construction is underway. “ ‘Austin’ is part of a journey that began nearly 70 years ago,” remarked Kelly in a statement issued by the Blanton. The artist has long been intrigued by Romanesque and Byzantine art and architecture. The simplicity of its forms first sparked his interest when he was an art student in 1947. This new work seeks to convey some of the emotional experience of the works that inspired it. “I hope visitors will experience ‘Austin’ as a place of calm and light,” Kelly said.