“Gather” is an elegant LED sculpture that celebrates the newly restored Fuller Garden Court at the Seattle Asian Art Museum (SAAM). Originally built in 1933, the landmarked art deco building was renovated and expanded by LMN Architects in 2020 and the new plan restored the Court’s significance as the museum’s central hub. At 2,300 sq ft, the Court not only connects the entry lobby to the exhibition galleries, it also functions as a flexible event space. Suspended from the skylit ceiling, the 26 x 48 x 10 ft artwork is light-weight yet bold in gesture, serving as a memorable canopy for events held in the Court while visually and thematically connecting the space to the museum’s esteemed collection of Asian art in the adjacent galleries.

The artwork references traditional Asian hand-crafts, particularly textile design, through mass-manufacturing practices, modern LEDs, and electronics. Made from 390 individual chip-on-board LED elements that are mass-produced in China, the artwork transforms everyday objects into an ethereal light sculpture. Its suspension-based construction and hash pattern is a nod to ikat weaving and sashiko sewing techniques. The cross-motif stands out in front of both light and dark backgrounds. Using gravity-based catenary curves to form its asymmetrical form, one end of the sculpture is gathered, its shape echoing the flow of hanging fabric.

The Seattle Asian Art Museum requested an artwork that would activate and soften the newly renovated Fuller Garden Court, the museum’s central hub that connects the Entry Lobby to the exhibition galleries. The artwork needed to be lightweight yet dynamic, taking care not to stress the structure of the glass skylit ceiling. Also, it was requested to not obstruct the floor space, a major event space for the organization. Additionally, it was our goal to create a piece that not only responds to the architecture of the space, but visually connects the Court to the Museum’s collection of Asian artworks housed in the adjacent galleries.

We worked closely with the Museum and our fabricators, RUSH Design, to create a piece that is visually dynamic, light-weight, and sensitively constructed in order not to damage the glass clearstory ceiling during installation. Other design limitations were turned into creative opportunities, particularly a tight project budget that led to the creative use of new, off-the shelf LED technologies available on the market with custom fabrication to create an “LED Fabric”. The “fabric” concept emerged from our long-term studies in Japanese textiles and fit the site’s requirement to install a very lightweight structure. During installation, Studio 1Thousand relied on its expertise in integrating new elements into existing, often historic, structures with minimal intrusion. The result is an elegant, ephemeral light installation that transforms typical off-the-shelf materials into an artwork that reflects the history of craft in Asian design.

“Achieving the sense that these elements are floating is technically difficult.”

Chrysanthi Stockwell, Juror, Architectural Lighting and Design Awards

Client: Seattle Asian Art Museum
Location: Seattle, WA
Size: 26ft x 48ft x 10ft
LED: 390 individual chip-on-board elements
Cost: $150,000
Project Status: Completed 2020
Team: RUSH Design (Fabricator)
Photographers: Adam Hunter (LMN Architects); Robert Wade Photography; Seattle Art Museum