Artwork copyright Paul Vexler. Photo courtesy of the artist.

Artwork copyright Paul Vexler. Photo courtesy of the artist.

Artwork copyright Paul Vexler. Photo courtesy of the artist.

Artwork copyright Paul Vexler. Photo courtesy of the artist.

Artwork copyright Paul Vexler. Photo courtesy of the artist.

Conic Sections, 2018

Paul Vexler
(American, born 1947, died 2022)

Location: Washington State University - North Puget Sound at Everett, Everett

ABOUT THE ARTWORK

Conic Sections is a wood and steel sculpture by artist Paul Vexler. The installation is comprised of six intersecting geometric forms. It is suspended above the atrium of the Administration building at Washington State University's North Puget Sound campus. The artist notes that this artwork "celebrates the beauty of the curves that are created when a cone is intersected by a plane. The circle, ellipse, parabola and hyperbola are wonderful shapes that have been admired for thousands of years. They are also essential in understanding the motion of objects here on earth and in our solar system."

This artwork was acquired for the State Art Collection in partnership with Washington State University.

ABOUT THE ARTIST

Based in Snohomish, Western Washington, artist Paul Vexler (1947-2022) created sculptures that blend art, math, and science, exploring natural and man-made shapes. He studied physics in college before turning to sculpture and notes, "I like mathematical forms that occur in nature—logarithmic spirals, helices, crystal lattices, polyhedral."

Vexler often uses wood as his main material: "Wood, to me, is a plastic medium. Many artists use wood carving or construction; the evolution of my work is based on an exploration of the ways in which wood can be pushed, pulled, bent, twisted, compressed, stretched, and punctured."