$Refraction Summary$

Refraction Summary

Artist / Maker Andy Paiko ((American, b. 1977))

Date2022

MediumBlown and formed glass, rope, cabling, twine, leather, LED lighting.

Dimensions18 ft. long x 14 ft. high

ClassificationsSculpture

Credit LineCommissioned by University Museums. Funded by the Joyce Tomlinson Brewer Fund for Art Acquisition. In the permanent collection, University Museums, Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa. Located in the Ann Brunnier Gallery, Brunnier Art Museum.

Object numberUM2022.61a-r

Status

On view

Collections

CultureAmerican

Label TextFrom the University Museums Collections Handbook, vol. 2, 2025: Andy Paiko combines traditional Venetian glassblowing techniques with contemporary ingenuity to create a range of objects from the purely aesthetic to functional artistry. Working alone, he has developed a unique process that brings his creative ideas to fruition. His installations of screens and chandeliers are unique collages of glass forms, shapes, and vessels blown in the studio and “strung” together on cabling, transforming architectural spaces by filtering or emitting light. Refraction Summary is the second chandelier in University Museums collection, after the 2019 addition of the trio of Met Chandeliers in the Scheman Building atrium. The strung glass forms connect to the history, research, and the natural environment found around the Iowa State campus with the inclusion of the iconic Marston Water Tower, a DNA double helix, and a burr oak leaf and acorn. Paiko’s chandelier adds a contemporary expression of lighting to the University Museums’ encyclopedic glass collection, while referencing the historic Venetian glass within the permanent collection.

Locations