CLEVELAND — There’s no need to wish for more snow to see a snowman. Take a drive to University Circle to the Cleveland Museum of Art, and you’ll find a life-size snowman inside the Ames Family Atrium.
The “Snowman” sculpture was first constructed by Swiss artists Peter Fishchli and David Weiss when they were commissioned by a German power plant to create a site-specific work.
The frost-coated copper sculpture is filled with water. The box encasing it creates a micro climate that is kept humid, and over time, the condensed water collects on the surface of the form and freezes, transforming it into a snowman.
"The surprise of encountering a snowman inside the museum gestures to recurring tensions in Fischli and Weiss’s practice—between the fleeting and permanent, the natural and artificial. It is also an indication of the playfulness that is a hallmark of their work," the museum said.
“Snowman” is a temporary loan from the Scott Mueller Family. The sculpture will be on view through Sunday, Sept. 6.
