Threshold

"My father was Professor Emeritus at Johns Hopkins University. Science and engineering are cornerstones of my sculptures. Art and science are unending explorations of the unknown. For the artist, like the scientist, there is no value in discovering penicillin twice. Both professions are vulnerable to misuse and the genuine value to humanity is determined by the intention and quality of heart of the practitioner and user.

“Through science, art speaks of our inner world which is as infinite as the world of matter. In sculpture we use the physics and nature of materials, engineering poetically works that sing the song of the soul." —Danny Lane, 2021

"Threshold" was commissioned by The Mint Museum of Craft + Design to celebrate the opening of the new Mint Museum Uptown at the Levine Center of the Arts in October 2010. It was the first in a series of site-specific commissions called Project Ten Ten Ten.

The work is situated on the threshold of the Craft + Design galleries, drawing visitors into the space. Its 800 stacked sheets of glass undulate in front of colored glass objects made in Lane's studio, as well as other objects.

The son of a biochemist and an art historian, the artist used precise mathematical calculations to engineer the support mechanism of Threshold and create a feeling of transcendence. Lane describes it as a sculpture to be experienced: "The viewer activates it. As you walk by, things appear to move. Really, I think the purpose in making art is to make something… that elevates the soul."