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Glass Cube

Glass Cube, by Larry Bell, is a metal-edged, transparent glass box in the shape of a cube, a meter wide, through which the gallery walls and everything that passes behind is slightly dimmed, as by twilight or a dimmer switch. Yet at certain angles, what appears is a reflection of something brighter somewhere else, so that the views and the brightnesses shift and shuffle sides as you and others move around.

Made in 1984, the box sits neatly on top of a perfectly clear walled rectangular base 16” tall and identical in footprint. The slight darkening effect of the glass is a product of a vanishingly thin coating of metal, which gives the panes an uncharacteristic sheen. A flush narrow edging of chrome-plated steel frames and holds the panes together in a cube.