"TWENTY-FOUR SOLAR TERMS"- Beijing Daxing International Airport, China
in collaboration with Shan Shan Sheng
Client: Bejing Daxing International Airport
Architect: Yang Wen Jing, Yi Chang Architectural Design Firm
Photo credits: Shan Shan Sheng
Technique: The process involves combining hand-made painting and bright brushstrokes fused to large-scale architectural glass panels, in the 800-degree kiln.
DESCRIPTION: The piece has a diameter of twenty-eight feet and weighs three tons. On every two pieces of glass, Chinese Calligraphy is used to delineate a solar term as interpreted by the artist . Nearly 50 pieces of art glass are arranged in a rising-spiral shape. The continuous curve panels mimic the sky, the universe, the river… and represent the twenty-four solar terms in time and space. The unique color changes in accordance with the essence of Chinese traditional culture flowing in the long river of history.
The artist programmed multimedia lighting based on changes in the perpetual calendar and the twenty-four solar terms. At certain solarterms, passengers at the airport can see the corresponding part of the work shining, as a slow sundial reminds people that the solar seasons are coming.
Twenty-Four Solar Terms was a complex design that demanded an international, collaborative process with the very best teams of public art organizers, glass fabricators, programmers, engineers, and designers from China, the U.S., and Germany. The sculpture is a combination of abstract painting techniques, translated into architectural glass by Germany‘s renowned Peter‘s Glasmalerei, in a feat of handmade fabrication and cutting edge glass technique. The process involves combining hand-made painting and bright brushstrokes
“I have worked with Peter's Studio on several monumental sculptures. They are extremely reliable, professional, and attentive fabricators who are sensitive to artistic nuance. I can rely on Peter’s Studio to assist not only with the creative process of the art, but with shipping and international customs logistics, etc. They take care of all the aspects in detail.
I look forward to a long-lasting and fruitful relationship with Peter’s Studio.”
- Shan Shan Sheng, Artist