Sound Transit station art and artists featured at Bellevue Art Museum exhibition

By Sound Transit

April 7, 2022

The Bellevue Arts Museum’s Biennial on Architecture and Urban Design features Sound Transit’s public art program (better known as STart) highlighting installations at several East Link and Downtown Redmond Link stations.

STart partnered with LMN Architects on the installations.

Through the lens of “Architecture and Urban Design,” STart and LMN are striving to illustrate how each station is thought through with the passengers’ experience at the forefront of any decision, to make passing through space a fluid movement, and to create bridges between places and communities.

In this context, public art can be many things: a wayfinding tool, a moment of respite, or space for contemplation or gathering; though public art does, above all else, provide an element of self-reflection and pride for each community.

The rest of the Biennial will sprawl over the entire third floor of the museum and will explore architects’, artists’ and urban designers’ take on how urban planning decisions shape our responses to essential questions in an ever-expanding urban environment.

As we prepare for opening the East Link project as the 2 Line in 2023, STart is working to raise awareness for what’s coming to East Side communities.

The gallery display also aims at demystifying the processes at work behind the development of public art projects – processes that may not be familiar to the typical museum-goer.

Artwork that is displayed as part of the Bellevue Biennial show featuring artists' creations for Sound Transit East Link stations. — Part of the Bellevue Art Museum Biennial show featuring artists' creations for Sound Transit East Link stations.

All the major public artwork featured in this space has been the product of a continued partnership between project architects and STart, as well as the individual artists selected for each opportunity: from Leo Berk’s integrated artwork in the pedestrian bridge over Highway 520, to Louie Gong’s expansive cut metal artwork which will be conferring its character to the Spring District Station, to Philip K. Smith III’s futuristic and towering light sculpture at Wilburton Station.

The exhibition features large-scale wall graphics depicting immersive artworks, prototypes and a replica of the cyclorama – the large 20-ft. diameter overhead drum-shaped light box structure developed for Bellevue Downtown Station, to display rotating works of 2D art.

STart also commissioned videographer AJ Lenzi to produce a documentary-style video to explore the artistic processes behind design and fabrication of public art pieces, through artist interviews with Kenji Stoll (Downtown Redmond Station), Vicki Scuri (South Bellevue Station) and the fabricators involved in each project, Mighty Tieton and Winsor Fireform.

Have a look at the facinating stories behind these new Eastside landmarks.

The Making of Art for Public Places, Part 1: Vicki Scuri, South Bellevue Station Acoustic Panels

The Making of Art for Public Places, Part 2: Kenji Stoll, Downtown Redmond Station, Art Panels.

Located on the first floor of the museum in the Community Education Gallery, the STart portion of the Biennial exhibition will be admission-free, like the rest of the museum’s first floor.

It runs through April 24, 2022.

The museum is hosting an open house April 16 to meet the artists and celebrate the Biennial.

RSVP here if you'd like to attend.