Spire 9

Spire 9 is a straight-sided column of clear glass layered with horizontal bands of color: crimson, sage, cobalt, apricot, plum and a soft blush at the base. The bands vary in thickness and density, some solid and saturated, others thinned almost to mist, and together they run the full height of the sculpture like a core sample drawn from the earth.

The Spire series sets aside the stepped silhouettes of Gordon's Kujenga works in favor of a single clean vertical, which moves all the activity inside the glass. Here that interior is organized into strata, and the column reads as a record of accumulation, each layer laid down over the last.

The alternation between warm and cool bands gives the piece its pulse. Reds and oranges advance while blues and greens recede, so the column appears to breathe as the eye travels up it. Clear passages between the bands let light through and keep the form from feeling heavy.

On its wide brushed steel base, Spire 9 has the presence of a small monument: calm and upright, carrying its color in layers.