Chromasphere is a permanent artwork by Clayton Binkley and Taiji Miyasaka composed of a set of eleven large wooden sculptures suspended in the air in the lobby of the Podium; a sports complex in Spokane, WA. The shape, texture and color of the pieces references the surrounding landscape and explores the use of multi-resolution texture to allow different experiences to viewers at different scales and distances. Impressions of the geology surrounding Spokane were translated into abstract geometric forms assembled from stacked and rotated hexagonal frames of salvaged western cedar.

The forms are internally colored and subtly illuminated using LED lights installed in hidden coves at the base of each sculpture.  The lighting makes them visible at night from the surrounding city scape and provides viewers on the ground a perceptual connection to the pieces during the day.  The color of the inside surface of each of the forms loosely referencing the colors encountered in the landscape in and around Spokane.  The internally reflected white light within the forms picks up the color of the inner surface causing them to glow with colored light and stand out against the neutral background of the lobby.

The forms are arranged such that the largest one; visible the entire length of the building, attracts visitors to the lobby area where the 10 other forms are clustered. The placement and orientation of each form was carefully determined based on visitors’ anticipated views from inside and outside of the space.

Location: Spokane Sportsplex (The Podium), Spokane, WA
Artists: Clayton Binkley and Taiji Miyasaka
Lighting: Yuliya de la Calle, Station 22

Status: Completed September 2021

Photography by: Taiji Miyasaka