Janet Echelman, an American sculpture artist whose works are of great interest, presented her latest work, "Current" which spans the Gay Intersection and High Street in Columbus, Ohio in 2023. 

Janet Echelman created the new sculpture a week ago

Before starting this project, Echelman researched Columbus City and finally got an idea for her work. She is in love with the city's history, then becomes the motivation and background for deciding the concept and the place where her work will be shown.

Red and blue looks contrast between the streets and buildings

To create Current, Janet Echelman used 128 kilometers of fibers linked to each other. With a length of fiber that was no joke, the artist weaved more than 500,000 knots to create a multi-interpreted effect. Some interpret it as clouds, spider webs, or even aurora.

This sculpture called "Current" stretches over the buildings in Intersection street

However, Echelman said her work was inspired by bricks in old buildings and his meeting with the river in Columbus. Therefore, Current displays red and blue representing the color characteristics of each element.

The Current structure spans between buildings at a busy crossroads. The small intertwined knots are held by a white frame of thick strings that form web patterns. Furthermore, the thick strings are tied up at the buildings at a certain distance calculated before.

Janet Echelman is deeply inspired by the Columbus City

As a result, this public art extends between buildings and over a 70-meter-long roadway, with its highest point 38 meters from street level. Even though there were no difficulties when making this work, Echelman confessed that she faced challenges during the installation process. This is because some of the buildings for connecting Current strings are private buildings that are still actively used.

When viewed from below the sculpture looks like the clouds or imitation aurora

"The challenge to build such an ambitious permanent interconnected art commission over a municipal street attached to multiple private buildings might have been impossible elsewhere," she said.

In creating this sculpture, Janet Echelman was supported by Jeff Edwards, who funded the entire process. They carry the goal that Current will become a symbol and the new face of the area as a new art center in Columbus.

It is hoped that it will become a symbol of the new artistic center in Columbus