Cascade

is a 75-square-foot glass mosaic created for the remodel of Greenville-Spartanburg International Airport in Greer, South Carolina, made from Venetian glass smalti, larger Italian glass cakes, and digitally printed ceramic elements.

This design celebrates the past, present, and future of South Carolina and the cities of Greenville and Spartanburg — offering the viewer glimpses into the driving forces of the area’s history, culture, and economy. Three themes are interwoven throughout: water, textiles, and technology and mobility. The organizing spirit is Paul Gauguin’s great painting of 1897,

D’où Venons Nous / Que Sommes Nous / Où Allons Nous

— “Where Do We Come From? What Are We? Where Are We Going?”

As the waters of the Reedy River cascade downward through the composition, the viewer is invited into three planes of reference: beginning with the recognizable form of Falls Park on the Reedy River, moving through the textile patterns and grids of technology, which echo the same dynamic movement as the waterfalls themselves. The gesture of this design is one of movement and wonder — vivid colors, joyful spaces — offering the observant traveler a foretaste of the larger Greenville-Spartanburg culture and region.