Details of an ambitious plan for artwork to grace London's Crossrail stations emerged today.
The image above shows A Cloud Index, a 120m-long, 20m-wide artwork by Spencer Finch that will be installed in the station canopy at Paddington. Drawing on the likes of Turner and Constable, the piece depicts more than 25 types of cloud and its appearance will change depending on the lighting conditions outside.
It's the first piece in what Crossrail are calling the Culture Line — a series of artworks, privately funded, and "permanently integrated into the new stations to deliver a vibrant transport experience for generations to come". Each of the eight new central London stations will sport its own piece, selected by a local gallery: the Lisson chose the Paddington artwork, while other galleries who will make a selection include Victoria Miro for Liverpool St, White Cube for Bond Street and Sadie Coles for Farringdon.
Sounds promising, though whether we'll get anything as strikingly beautiful as the Stockholm underground remains to be seen. And Culture Line is already the name for the museums and galleries along the Overground route in east London. Those minor quibbles aside, we look forward to seeing the other artworks.
