This artwork is located in a City Council stairwell that provides access to other parts of the building, a space that benefits from the drama of the colourful, dynamic glasswork. Working with architects De Lisle, Fraser, Smith and Pickering, the artist was able to integrate the glass-work into the building structure.

The blue and red glass was mouth-blown in huge bubbles from red hot furnaces then flattened into sheets with the resulting irregularities of thickness giving gentle shadings of colour, and the small trapped air bubbles, life and movement.

The work is large (45m²) and can be viewed from multiple positions.

An information panel installed with the work reads:

This untitled glass work which adorns the Hamilton City Council Municipal Chambers is one of five architectural commissions for public institutions. Sanford’s other major public glass artworks are situated in the University of Auckland (1984), Auckland District Court (1987), Aotea Centre (1989) and Hansells Food Group Ltd Building (2008).

The blue and red stained glass is hand-blown in the same way that bottles are formed. They are then flattened. This method of making sheet glass makes the glass appear thicker and allows the density of colour to vary in parts.

Sanford’s design includes overlapping panels of blue and sporadic splashes of red with transparent glass separating two large areas of blue. This is her visual interpretation of municipality and industry: people cooperating to shape a city.

Also located in the same foyer, and commissioned at the same time, is Paul Johnson’s ‘Structure and Erosion’ (1985).

See also:

• Hamilton Public Art: A guide to sculpture, murals, carvings and installations, School of Media Arts, Wintec, published 29 Oct 2014 (accessed 1 April 2025)

• Holly Sanford, Hamilton City Council (artist’s website)