RED is pictured on April’s banner image. RED is 2 feet diameter tube that is 35 feet long and ascends 12 feet in the air before falling to the ground.  This work is made of a stainless steel skeleton that is covered in red cotton fabric.   I installed RED at the Redding Gallery in Wilmington DE as part of the April Art on the Town and especially for the Art Loop opening night reception held on Friday, April 1, 2011.

RED is a rather unwieldy sculpture, but the challenge of the design and execution was particularly exhilarating.  Of course, in a one-of-a-kind expression such as this not everything goes as planned–but not for lack of planning.  Get this:  Upon installing RED it became quite evident that the piece, while impressive in size and scope, could not remain where it was.  It fit the space perfectly and certainly it was eye-catching.  This wasn’t the problem. Rather, the sculpture RED was purple!

After some quick thinking on the eve of the opening–and with the aid of kindly government employees–RED was moved around the corner where it was once again was the bright red RED that I planned!

Here’s the deal: The special energy efficient lighting in the atrium space generated a light emanating from the ultra-violet part of the spectrum.  When this light mixed with the bright red fabric color, purple–rather than bright red–was the reflected color.  I ask you, “How could I possibly have a sculpture titled RED that is purple?”  The answer is: I couldn’t.  As you can see from the banner,  RED is red.

See the anatomy of this sculpture and its birth in the attached slideshow.  Also, you can see the other nine sculptures in the Redding Gallery April 2011 Art Loop installation.

Thanks for taking a look.  The exhibit at the Redding Gallery, 800 North French Street, Wilmington DE 19801 was open to the public for the month of April 2011.