Artwork copyright Jack Archibald. Photo courtesy of Washington State Arts Commission, by Colleen Chartier.

Artwork copyright Jack Archibald. Photo courtesy of Washington State Arts Commission, by Colleen Chartier.

Atlas At Last, 1989

Jack Archibald
(American, born 1950)

Location: Columbia Elementary School, Wenatchee

ABOUT THE ARTWORK

Atlas At Last is a curved 5-panel stained-glass artwork created by artist Jack Archibald for Columbia Elementary School. The bold and colorful geometric design separates the library from the main entrance foyer. When it was installed in 1989, Principal Dennis Friedrich noted, "We wanted something with a little bit of fantasy to it, and it's just gorgeous. You have to stand in it to get the feeling of it." Archibald notes, "A friend of mine once told me: for those who require no explanations, there are no mysteries."

This artwork was acquired for the State Art Collection in partnership with Wenatchee School District.

ABOUT THE ARTIST

Glass artist Jack Archibald uses light to animate the colors and abstract shapes in his stained glass artworks. In his own words, "As a stained glass artist, I work with light. Glass is uniquely interactive with light, its transitions, its intensities, its colors. Throughout the day, a window constantly undergoes transformation. The changing light animates the glass."

Archibald earned a Bachelor of Arts degree (1972) from the University of Wisconsin. In 1981, he established the private studio called "Revisionary Glassworks" on Camano Island, on North Puget Sound, Western Washington.