Sun Ribbon
Location:#14 Located in Pacific Arts Plaza near the intersection of Anton Boulevard and Park Center Drive.
Sun Ribbon by Claire Falkenstein has artfully orchestrated stripes of gold, orange, red, violet and clear-textured glass to form a translucent windscreen. Like our Sun, this colorful stained-glass wall radiates warmth, light and cheer. Sun Ribbon is a masterfully designed piece of functional art that creates a bright, vigorous counterpoint to the solemn vertical rise of surrounding buildings.
Claire Falkenstein had designed stained glass windows, fountains, gates and murals in Europe and the United States before creating her wonderful, twisted Sun Ribbon. She also did the window screens and entrance for St. Basil’s church on Wilshire Boulevard in Los Angeles. Her works have been seen in museums in Los Angeles, Oakland, Seattle and Portland.
Claire Falkenstein - Sun Ribbon
Bio: (1908 -1997) Coos Bay, Oregon. Claire Falkenstein was a California sculptor extraordinaire who never fit neatly into a style or artistic label. She defied the artistic norm in a comprehensive exhibition of her exquisite jewelry. She taught at UCLA. She also did the entrance and window screens for St. Basil’s Church on Wilshire Boulevard. She is primarily a sculptor, though she also dabbled in the fields of drawing, painting, print-making, glass blowing, paper and jewelry.
The Piece: Falkenstein has designed stained glass windows, fountains, gates and murals in Europe and the US before creating her wonderful, twisted Sun Ribbon located in Pacific Arts Plaza. It is the glass-paneled windscreen at the gateway to California Scenario adjacent to Jerry’s Famous Deli. Sun Ribbon has artfully orchestrated strips of gold, orange, red, violet, and clear-textured glass to form a translucent windscreen. The piece deflects the stress of wind because of the “twist” of the design. Falkenstein achieved the interesting and functional design by the interplay between space and form. Like the sun this colorful stained-glass wall radiates forth light and cheer. Sun Ribbon is a masterfully designed piece of functional art that creates a bright, vigorous counterpoint to the solemn vertical rise of surrounding buildings.
Trivia: Lived in Paris from 1950 until deciding to settle in Southern California. She maintained a studio there.