Client: City of Shenzhen China
Location: Shenzhen, China
Completion date: 2018
Artwork budget: $1,320,000
Project Team
Industry Resource
Jan Peters
Peter's Glass Studio
Artist
Shan Shan Sheng
East West Art Studio
Industry Resource
Zhen Ping
Shenzhen Guangmei Sculpture Mural Art Co., Ltd.
Industry Resource
Maurizio Cesana
Sound of Venice - Video Production
Industry Resource
Will Sloane
East West Art Studio
Architect
Yang Wen Jing
Yi Chang Architectural Design Firm
Industry Resource
Xia Bing - Sturctural Engineer
Shanghai Yuan Ji Architectural Planning Firm
Industry Resource
SCIARA Film Production
Industry Resource
Yi Chen Ming Lighting Company
Architect
Yi Mo Film Production
Industry Resource
Shenzhen Jian Wei Design and Construction Co.
Music Composer
Romeo Scaccia - Composer
Overview
Blooming is a fresh abstract sculpture by Shan Shan Sheng. A series of vividly colorful organic columns fabricated from architectural art glass, Blooming is monumental, It reflects the transformation of the Shenzhen skyline into groundbreaking, surprising forms. Blooming is inspired by Shenzhen's unique moment and history, as a place of fabrication, craft, and digital, as a portal shaping China's present and future. Consisting of nearly 500 glass panels, 29ft high, 25ft wide and 23ft long, dazzling colors bring dynamic visual impact. LED lighting are integrated into each panel, choreographed and synchronized with original music, viewers can interactive with a mobile app.
Goals
When designing blooming the goals of integration were focused on conceptual elements. As a contemporary artwork, Blooming expresses the Shenzhen blend of innovation, new approaches to art and design, and a fresh urban space that is constantly expanding. The team was focused on this aspect of integrating Blooming into not just the local landscape in Red Cubes Museum Plaza but into the vibrant energy of Shenzhen as a new vibrant city. Blooming is located in the middle of two Museum buildings in an open plaza so the design was free to command the flow of the plaza providing a very open final layout, allowing viewers to move between the towers. The design process for each tower was very rigorous and was a collaboration between and international team from China, Germany, and the U.S.
Process
Blooming took about three years from concept to implementation. Its production method is extremely specialized and complex, each tower's curved form went through multiple design phases to find the correct armature and panel shape to express Shan Shan's vision. The team consisted of public art organizers, glass fabricators, programers, engineers, and designers from China, the U.S., and Germany. Due to the innovation, diligent work, and cooperation of all parties this immensely complex work was successfully completed. Blooming has a unique construction. 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, then put together on site in Shenzhen with Guangmei Sculpture Mural Art Co., Ltd. facilitating the construction, lighting, and final installation. Fusing hand made painting and bright brushstrokes fused to large-scale architectural glass panels, in the 800 degree kiln. Blooming is both handmade and manufactured, an intersection of art, design, and engineering.