Bouyant Force - Reston, Virginia - Abstract Public Sculptures on Waymarking.com

Buoyant Force is a large abstract sculpture that sits within Reston Town Center. There are 5 signs in front of it, 3 directly related to the sculpture itself. Street side parking is available.


Sign Text:
Sue Wrbican
Bouyant Force, 2018-2020
Acrylic on steel

This 50-foot steel sculpture by Sue Wrbican is inspired by the paintings of American Surrealist Kay Sage (b. 1898, Albany, New York; d. 1963, Woodbury, Connecticut). Sage is recognized for her paintings of scaffolded structures and furled fabric in desolate landscapes. Wrbican became aware of Sage's work years ago after she began using retired sails as sculpted forms in her photographs. For this project, Wrbican imagines what a Sage structure might look like at full scale in an urban environment, calling attention to the built space and the way it is experienced. The sculpture's vertically forces the viewer to look up and contrast of the hard angles and straight lines of the structure with the curves of the swooping sails highlights stillness and movement, the natural and constructed, weight and weightlessness.

In Physics, buoyant force is the upward force exerted on an object fully or partially submerged in a liquid. This force is what allows something to float. Metaphorically, the title is motivational, a rising up, an awareness. Buoyant Force is uplifiting yet the work is a somber recognition of the environmental concerns plaguing the world. The sculpture is constructed of steel pipe commonly used to transport natural gas. However, the pipes you see here have been redirected from their intended purpose and now, out of circulation, hold nothing but air.

Title: Bouyant Force Artist: Sue Wrbican Media (materials) used: Steel Location (specific park, transit center, library, etc.): Town Center Date of creation or placement: 2020

Recent Visits/Logs:

Date Logged Log   04/20/2022 dminimax visited it