Gateway to the Hidden Part of the Sky, 2010

Royal Caribbean Allure of the Seas

Jacob Hashimoto’s “Gateway to the Hidden Part of the Sky” is a stunning compilation of approximately 2,100 hand silk-screened discs or “kites” suspended by a grid of 146 stainless steel rods, all connected at seemingly random points. As the sculpture winds through the forward lift lobby opening, the painted discs create an undulating, constantly shifting landscape that moves from seascape to landscape to sky. The piece is every bit a marvel in engineering and construction as it is in artistic expression. The artist spent three weeks onboard with his crew, painstakingly installing every inch of the sculpture by hand. -Joan Blackman