Afruz Amighi, Sky Carpet, 2024, laminated glass with hand-painted enamel, beveled glass and iron, Khalil Gibran International Academy High School, Brooklyn ​

Sky Carpet is a site-specific artwork created by Afruz Amighi for the lobby of the new Khalil Gibran International Academy High School, Brooklyn. Inspired by the mythological flying carpet of the Arabian Nights stories, the hanging sculpture is composed of three glass panels set within a sleek iron frame.  The panels are hung at different angles to create the illusion that the sculpture is moving upward as viewers enter the school and downward as they leave. Designed to be viewed from multiple angles, the sculpture is also visible to the general public through the large lobby windows. 

Amighi researched a wide variety of global decorative traditions, drawing influence from the sinuous lines of Persian rugs and Turkish textiles and the geometric glasswork of American architect Frank Lloyd Wright. Her use of hand-painted enamel in sunny yellows, bright sky blues, and midnight navies borrows from the color palette in the mystical paintings of Khalil Gibran, a Symbolist artist, poet, and the school’s namesake. Sky Carpet is intended to be experienced as an object with poetic and literary symbolism as well as, as a non-object - an immaterial series of reflections. These reflections are enhanced by the use of beveling, where cuts are made in the glass to create angled surfaces that refract light. This kaleidoscopic effect showers viewers in splintered light, casting patterns on everything below, creating a warm and inviting environment for students and faculty. .