Souterrain / Basement

Very few sculptures go below ground level, and the few that do – such as Walter de Maria’s Vertical Earth Kilometer – only imply that there are underground elements, rather than actually making them accessible. In this sense, Stefan Sous’ Basement opens up an additional dimension for public art: as the title suggests, it makes the basement inhabitable.

This stone sculpture is comprised of concentric circles that form three steps down towards the center, creating rows of benches around a flat circle at the lowest point in the middle. The “risers” on these stairs are made of backlit glass and become three smaller rings of light in the dark.

Rather than just being an autonomous sculpture or a minimalist piece of furniture like those made by Donald Judd, Stefan Sous’ work also serves a social function. The people who sit on these steps automatically form a circle in their shared experience of this unusual sitting position.