An intervention in two parts, each measuring 40 meters high by 20 meters wide, SolarWind is the first permanent public artwork by Laurent Grasso, one year after his last solo show at Galerie Perrotin in Paris.

At the heart of Paris Rive Gauche, an extensive renovation zone in the capital’s 13th district, Laurent Grasso’s SolarWind is set to become the most ambitious art commission within the Grand Paris project, in an area where the contemporary city can be seen reinventing itself. At the instigation of the 13th district council, Ciments Calcia, and SEMAPA, Laurent Grasso was selected for an art intervention on the two concrete silos of cement manufacturer Calcia’s distribution center, each of which is 40 meters high and 20 meters in diameter. Owing to its architectural distinctiveness, the structure, designed by VIB Architecture, has long been a key feature in this part of the 13th arrondissement, its sheer visual impact enhanced by its strategic location at the junction of the Périphérique ring road and a future pedestrian thoroughfare linking Paris with neighboring Ivry-sur-Seine. This unique configuration has spurred Laurent Grasso to imagine a powerfully evocative light installation.