Terrazzo Shows its Colors as a Medium for Public Art

The map consists of 234 individually designed and poured-in-place panels, each measuring approximately three foot by three foot. Epoxy resin with a multitude of terrazzo aggregates and recycled glass mix formulations in 14 different colors was the medium for the map.

The artist digitally modeled the map using a standard templating process to create a paint-by-number template for each panel, explained Rob Redden, owner and vice-president of Boatman and Magnani.

Each panel was poured individually in-shop by the artist without divider strips, which allowed for greater levels of intricacy in detail. A painstaking three-month pouring process kept colors from bleeding. At the same time, the museum lobby was being built.

To ensure that each individual panel would run perfectly into those it would adjoin, with rivers meeting tightly, and without having those adjoining panels on hand to pour to, the artist had to flawlessly track his progress and calibrate numbers and mixes.