Daniel Wurtzel is an artist who works with an improbable medium: air. The Brooklyn-based creator, 52, makes so-called “air sculptures” that have entranced guests at events ranging from the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics closing ceremony to Lexus’s New York Fashion Week presentation for designer Gareth Pugh’s Spring/Summer 2015 collection. He also designs elements used in performances, including a dramatic swirl of glitter featured in a pivotal scene of the current Broadway production of Finding Neverland.
“As an artist, I always want to be working at the edge of my knowledge,” Wurtzel says. “For me, it’s about learning something new and a process of invention and reinvention.” Before he began experimenting with airflow systems and other materials—including bird feathers, flower petals, and soap bubbles—Wurtzel says he was consciously trying to free his mind of preconceived notions about sculpture.
One day, Wurtzel found himself mesmerized by a maple leaf that was suspended about two feet above a sidewalk grate. “It stood there for maybe 10 to 15 seconds before blowing away,” Wurtzel says. “At that moment, I knew I wanted to recreate that.” Thus began an exploration of air and the development of what Wurtzel refers to as a “body of kinetic artwork [that sits at] the intersection of art, dance, theater, and many other types of events and uses.”
In the past year, Wurtzel’s biggest projects have included the refinement of an artwork called Air Fountain. The work features shimmery pieces of fabric hovering above a disc-shaped base with a reflective top. The fans that make the fabric pieces move are hidden below the piece’s deck, giving the sculpture a sense of magic. “This piece is highly adaptable and can be made at virtually any scale, as a sculpture, an architectural installation, or as a round movable stage unto itself,” Wurtzel says.
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