Wind Sculpture

Michio Ihara (Japanese-American, b. 1928)
1989
stainless steel and gold-plated stainless steel
22 ft. x 166 x 61 in.
89.11

Greeting visitors at the entrance to the museum, Michio Ihara’s kinetic sculpture explores motion and the changing forces of nature, including light, wind, and weather. The shape of its rotating curved metal “arms” reflects the museum’s curved roofline and the jagged top profile mirrors the pine trees situated on the grounds.

The Japanese artist became an American citizen in 2001, settling first in Concord, Massachusetts. An internationally recognized sculptor, Ihara graduated from Tokyo University of Fine Art in 1953. He continued his studies at the University of Arizona and Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) on a Fulbright Grant, and later became a Fellow at the Center for Advanced Visual Studies at MIT.

Ihara often works with architects to create art work, specifically sculpture for public areas in and outside of buildings they designed. He created this 22-foot-high kinetic wind sculpture for a solo exhibition at the Art Complex Museum, Michio Ihara: Art Meets Architecture, in 1989.