Construction barricades at station entrance.

Shadow Vessel series, 2024
Emily Fussner
Photos of six original artworks printed on corrugated plastic boards
Shadow Vessel IX, 2024, Cyanotype on paper, 25 x 20 in.
hope grows in cracks and shadows, 1 (study), 2024, Cut photograph, 25 x 20 in.
hope grows in cracks and shadows, 2 (study), 2024, Acrylic on photograph, 20 x 25 in.
Shadow Vessel XI, 2024, Cyanotype on paper, 25 x 20 in.
Shadow Vessel XII, Cut vellum and acrylic, 20 x 25 in.
Penumbra XIII, 2024, Cyanotype, acrylic, and collage on paper, 25 x 20 in.
4' h x 4' w each panel

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View video interview with Emily Fussner

Artist Emily Fussner fills parking lot pavement cracks with paper pulp and wire, and once dry, removes the direct casting. She is interested in the translation of these usually overlooked fractures into delicate, yet surprisingly resilient, net-like sculptures that can fold (to become a vessel) or unfold (like a map) in new contexts. The abstract forms in these images are records of shadows from the cast cracks-created by tracing, painting or cutting the paper around the shadow, or capturing the shadow's depth directly with a Cyanotype, an analog photography process using sunlight. Presented in this manner, the shadow forms take on new connotations and meanings.

Emily Fussner is a visual artist with a background in printmaking and papermaking. Her work highlights and transforms peripheral patterns of cracks, light, and shadows found in everyday spaces-exploring questions of transience and presence, fragility and strength, perception and care. Fussner has participated in numerous exhibitions, and has created large site-specific installations locally for Georgetown Glow (2021) and the Foggy Bottom Outdoor Sculpture Biennial (2018). She holds an MFA from George Mason University and was awarded a 2018-2019 Virginia Museum of Fine Arts Graduate Fellowship. After growing up in Indonesia, Indiana, and New Zealand, Emily now lives in Falls Church, VA. She works as the Events Manager & Resident Designer for Washington Project for the Arts, and is a current artist in residence at MoCA Arlington.

Metro's Art in Transit program, in partnership with the Museum of Contemporary Art Arlington, is pleased to present artworks by local artist Emily Fussner. The artworks adorn the construction barricade of the Crystal City station, serving as a vibrant enhancement during the escalator replacement work.

Supported by National Landing Business Improvement District, this temporary project at the Crystal City Metro station is turning a functional construction site into an opportunity for local artistic expression.