With her colorful net sculptures, Janet Echelman is the artist responsible for beautifying skies around the world. These are not your average sculptures. Their near-weightlessness and vivid colors allow for them to interact with nature, swaying in the wind and shining in the sunlight.
Echelman started as a contemporary painter but after the paints she ordered (while on a Fulbright lectureship in Asia) never arrived, Echelman found inspiration from the surrounding fishing village that was famous for its bronze sculptures. Eventually, she realized that bronze was far too heavy and expensive to work with and toyed with the idea of creating sculptures using nets, like the kind the fisherman around her used.
Echelman has since created a number of net sculptures in metropolitan cities around the world, finding inspiration from ancient crafts and modern technology. She currently has two upcoming projects slated – one for Dilworth Plaza at Philadelphia City Hall and the other for Matthew Knight Arena at the University of Oregon.
