Where Is Wake? See It at Olympic Sculpture Park

Q: How big is Wake?

Wake consists of five pairs of S-curved steel plates, each 14 feet tall, 2 inches thick, and weighing 30 tons. The total installation stretches 125 feet long, 46 feet wide, and weighs 300 tons. Serra used computer ship-hull design software to create the toroid forms.

Q: Where can I see Wake?

At the Olympic Sculpture Park in Seattle. Admission is free. It was the first piece installed at the park in July 2006, before the park's 2007 opening. Each 30-ton plate was lifted into position by crane.

Q: What material is it made from?

Weathering steel, which slowly rusts to a deep brown over time. The surface changes appearance with the seasons and years. Walking between the curved walls creates a shifting sense of enclosure and openness. The forms suggest tidal waves or ship hull profiles.

Q: What does 'Wake' mean?

The title has multiple readings: the wake of a ship (matching the hull-like forms and the park's waterfront setting), a vigil for the dead, or the act of waking up. Serra designed the curved walls to create a physical experience of moving through space, not just looking at an object.

Richard Serra's massive Wake creates an immersive spatial experience at Olympic Sculpture Park. Five curved weathering steel plates rise from the ground, their rusty orange surfaces developing a rich patina over time.

Walking through and around the sculpture, visitors experience shifting perspectives as the towering walls seem to lean and curve. The work exemplifies Serra's career-long exploration of how sculpture can transform space and the viewer's movement through it.

The museum asks visitors not to touch Wake. The delicate patina of rust on the surface contributes to its vivid coloration, and oils from human contact could damage it over time.

Wake consists of five pairs of S-curved steel plates, each 14 feet tall, 2 inches thick, and weighing 30 tons. The total installation stretches 125 feet long, 46 feet wide, and weighs 300 tons. Serra used computer ship-hull design software to create the toroid forms.

At the Olympic Sculpture Park in Seattle. Admission is free. It was the first piece installed at the park in July 2006, before the park's 2007 opening. Each 30-ton plate was lifted into position by crane.

Weathering steel, which slowly rusts to a deep brown over time. The surface changes appearance with the seasons and years. Walking between the curved walls creates a shifting sense of enclosure and openness. The forms suggest tidal waves or ship hull profiles.

The title has multiple readings: the wake of a ship (matching the hull-like forms and the park's waterfront setting), a vigil for the dead, or the act of waking up. Serra designed the curved walls to create a physical experience of moving through space, not just looking at an object.

Wake

Details

Where to See It

The Artist

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