Chase Center Set To Unveil Its Unique 'Seeing Spheres' Art Work
SAN FRANCISCO (CBS SF) -- It's hard not to notice one of the signature pieces of San Francisco's new Chase Center.
They look almost alien in nature. Five large silver spheres containing massive mirrors angled to greatly magnify the plaza located in front of them.
On Monday, the owners of the center, the Golden State Warriors, cleared up the mystery. The giant spheres are part of the largest public display in the United States by renowned artist Olafur Eliasson.
"Seeing spheres is a public space that contains you and contains multitudes," said Eliasson. "We often think of public space as empty, negative space in the city, viewed from a car or crossed on the way to somewhere else. Seeing spheres offers a place to pause, where you see yourself from the outside, as a participant in society."
Seeing spheres, 2019, consists of five fifteen-and-a-half-feet-tall polished hydroformed steel spheres that stand in a circle around a central space. Each sphere supports a flat, circular mirrored face, framed by a ring of LED lights, which is oriented inward to reflect the mirrored faces of the surrounding spheres.
Together they produce a surprising environment of multilayered, reflected spaces in which the same people and settings appear again and again, visible from various unexpected angles. Tunnel-like sets of nested reflections open up in the mirrors, repeating countless times and disappearing into the distance.
"Eliasson's global reputation for innovation and creativity is now on full display in San Francisco," said Warriors President and Chief Operating Officer Rick Welts. "Seeing spheres will be an instant must-see for Bay Area residents and a magnet for visitors from around the world."