© Estate of Chryssa
On view
Orientation Gallery
Susan & John Diekman Gallery
Susan & John Diekman Gallery
Blue Neon Birds,
1973–75
Chryssa, 1933–2013; born and died Athens, Greece; active Paris, France, and New York, NY
y1978-40
While neon lighting is often associated with commercial signage, custom neon shapes are not industrially produced; they must be hand blown by trained artisans who work in the long material tradition of glass and light. Chryssa, a Greek American artist who first arrived in New York in 1954, began to work with neon after her first encounter with the lights of Times Square led her to embrace the artistic potential of commercial materials. In collaboration with a workshop of neon specialists, Chryssa shaped neon tubes into innovative sculptures that are both abstract in form and grounded in the urban landscape of postwar New York.
Information
Title
Blue Neon Birds
Dates
1973–75
Maker
Medium
Paint, wood, and neon tubing
Dimensions
58.8 × 48.5 × 21.5 cm (23 1/8 × 19 1/8 × 8 7/16 in.)
Credit Line
Gift of Asher B. Lans
Object Number
y1978-40
Culture
Type
Materials
Subject
[Possibly Galerie Denise Rene Inc., New York (NY) [1]]; acquired by Asher B. Lans, by 1978; donated to the Princeton University Art Museum, 1978. [1] See label on the back.
