United Earth


United Earth is a public artwork by Tomasz Urbanowicz and Beata Urbanowicz in the Agora of the Seat of the European Parliament in Strasbourg. The glass sculpture has a diameter of and symbolizes the idea of openness to further expansion of the European Union in order to create a united world.

History

The sculpture was first created in 1999 as part of the "Urbanowicz - Glass" exhibition in the Museum of Architecture in Wrocław, which represented the glass art portfolio of Beata and Tomasz Urbanowicz. The artwork represented Poland at the international exhibition EXPO 2000 in Hanover, as part of the regional presentation of Lower Silesia. The glass sphere was recognized by The Corning Museum of Glass in New York as one of the hundred most outstanding glass works in the world in New Glass Review 21. In 2003 the artwork, also called "Archikula", was exhibited at the "Glass Universe" exhibition in the gardens of the Polish Embassy in Prague. The following year sculpture took part in the "ST'ART" art fair in Strasbourg. Since 2004, the glass sphere has been a permanent element of the European Parliament's agora in Strasbourg, after approval by the Louise Weiss building's architects - Architecture-Studio from Paris. The sculpture is a gift from the City of Wrocław to the European Parliament after Poland's accession to the European Union.

Artist