As installed in the Kotler Coville Glass Pavilion.

Selene

Artist Joanna Manousis (British-American, born 1984)

Date2017–2018

MediumGlass and stainless steel

DimensionsOverall: 33 1/2 × 33 1/2 × 3 in. (85.1 × 85.1 × 7.6 cm)

ClassificationsGlass

Credit LineMuseum purchase with funds provided by Edris Weis, 2022

Object number2022.34

British-born artist Joanna Manousis has gained a reputation for visual beauty and conceptual depth in her work that is matched by virtuosity in technical execution. For Selene, she mined a number of historical themes to inform the composition and imbue the work with layers of meaning. To create the opaline glass that changes from clear transparency to milky white opacity, Manousis experimented with the duration of kiln firings for the glass cast in molds. The polished glass segments are reminiscent of opal cabochons, which are known for their high water content. As such, the artist intends for the sculpture to be a contemporary abstraction of the ancient Greek goddess, Selene, who was associated with the moon’s gravitational pull influencing the tides. Additionally, the formation of the 42 glass components is inspired by oculus windows. With radiating glass segments separated by stone tracery in Gothic cathedrals, oculus windows also became known as rose windows and wheel windows in medieval times. Manousis has reinterpreted this centuries-old design by removing the architectural framework, colorful stained glass, and religious iconography, and instead used opaline glass that refracts light. Selene’s compositional rhythm alludes to the wheel window as a spiritual symbol of the cycle of life and death. Within glass segments, wheat seed heads reference the cyclical seasons, paying homage to ancient mythological narratives of Demeter as the goddess of the harvest. Furthermore, the artist intends the seeds to be a reminder that we are all grains within the complex constructs of society.

On View

On view

Location