Grosch Residence, Chicago, IL

Responding to the initial request of the clients for a work in their bedroom for a wall mounted work that would be unlike anything they had seen before, was a daunting challenge for von Roenn because they had an extensive collection of glass work and were extremely knowledgeable about glass art. Soon after visiting the Grosch’s home, which is just off Michigan Ave. in downtown Chicago, over looking Millennium Park with the pavilion by Frank Gehry and Anish Kapoor’s sculpture ‘Cloud Gate’, all of which is visible with Lake Michigan in the background from the bedroom window, von Roenn was left with the impression of being in the clouds looking down at this awe inspiring view. From this impression he developed the concept of a work that was like being in the midst of ‘fireworks on the 4th of July’ as a visual celebration of this dramatic view. After many months of experimentation with his staff he developed a variety of new techniques that ultimately rendered the visual effect he envisioned.

 

The work was created with thin pieces of prismatic glass, some of which have a dichroic coating, assembled as ‘star clusters’ which were adhered individually to a base glass panel of thick cast glass with antique grey mirroring on the back surface. This assembly was then secured to a wood base for the installation onto the wall. The final completed work weighs more than 500 lbs.