Shadow of the Sun

Dusterberry Park, Fremont, California
2022
Powder-coated steel, aluminum, etched colored glass
20' x 15' x 10" diameter
Commissioned by the City of Fremont

Shadow of the Sun is a 20-foot-tall sculpture made up of three powder-coated steel discs cantilevered from a single post at the center of Dusterberry Park. It works as a landmark, visible from the park's several entrances and drawing visitors toward the central plaza.

Up close, the discs reveal colored glass circles inlaid into the cut steel, each etched with an image identified through site research: a California gray fox seen along the city's trails, a ground squirrel from the park itself, a sedge from the nearby wetlands, and references to Fremont's history. As sunlight passes through, the images fall onto the pavers below and travel across the plaza through the day. The discs are also cut with views of the sky at growing distance: comets and asteroids of the solar system on the lowest, the Milky Way on the next, and the universe seen from far away on the largest. At night, uplighting casts color in another way, and the piece glows for the people who come to the park to stargaze.

The imagery ties the park at the center of the city to the hills east of town and the San Francisco Bay wetlands to the west. Designed for families and visitors of every age, the work is built for unattended outdoor life, with maintenance limited to the primary structure.