A New Public Artwork by Amy Ellingson
LARGE VARIATION: BLUE, 2021
by Amy Ellingson
Ceramic mosaic mural; 26 x 26 feet
College of Osteopathic Medicine, Sam Houston State University
Commissioned by Sam Houston State University in 2019 and installed in July 2021, this permanent installation is a 26 x 26 ft ceramic mosaic mural. Designed for the atrium lobby of SHSU’s College of Osteopathic Medicine Building in Conroe, Texas and fabricated and installed by Mosaika Art & Design, Montreal, the mural employs a formal language of color, sweeping linear elements and overlapping, floating forms. Large Variation: Blue is designed to optimize the grand atrium lobby space, connecting the structural levels of the building, as well as bringing a sense of color and light from outdoors to indoors.
Amy Ellingson writes, “I am interested in providing esthetic experiences—perceptual, optical and tactile—that are thoroughly rooted in abstraction, yet full of metaphorical meaning. I create large-scale, immersive, formally abstract works that evoke computer and genetic codes, fantastical cityscapes and landscapes, calligraphic letterforms, improvised music, and the rhythm and flow of life itself. The works are intended to convey a generosity of spirit—joy, delight, and buoyancy—as well as a deeper profundity, to the viewer. My imagery consists of a vocabulary of very simple forms that are digitally manipulated. Through repetition and variation, these forms are built into a dense field of information that acknowledges the complexity of our digital world while paying homage to the history of abstraction as a powerful tool to engage and inspire viewers. Simply put, my work is an attempt to confront the enormity of our contemporary virtual experience while asserting the universal human experiences of making, seeing, and perceiving.”
INSTALLATION IN PROGRESS
All of the ceramic tiles are made, glazed, and hand-cut in Montreal, where the artwork is first assembled on the floor and then packaged in sections. After a 15 month delay caused by COVID-19 travel restrictions, the team is finally able to unpack the crates and begin installation. Once all the tiles are mortared to the wall, the painstaking and complex task of grouting in multiple colors begins.
