The New York-based artist Spencer Finch was in London in April for meetings about A Cloud Index, a 120m-long glazed canopy that will span the ticket hall of the new Crossrail station currently under construction at Paddington. The piece, which will feature different types of clouds printed on to its glazed panels, is due to be the first completed work of art for the new £14.8bn train line, which will traverse London from east to west when it opens in late 2018.
Several large-scale pieces of art will be installed in Crossrail stations across the city. Speaking to The Art Newspaper after the opening of his solo show at the Lisson Gallery (until 7 May), Finch said that his canopy is “a fantasy skyscape”, and that the clouds will appear to change according to the light, the position of the sun and the time of day.
The artist was travelling to Germany next, where the clouds are being printed on large-scale sheets of glass by a Bavarian company. The canopy is co-funded by Heathrow Ltd and the City of London Corporation.
• Spencer Finch: the Opposite of Blindness, Lisson Gallery, London, until 7 May