The Wexner Center for the Arts is Ohio State's multidisciplinary, international laboratory for the exploration and advancement of contemporary art. Opened in November 1989, the Wexner Center was conceived as a research laboratory for all the arts and has emphasized commissions for new work and artist residencies since its inception. Its multidisciplinary programs encompass performing arts, exhibitions, and media arts (film/video), all focused on cutting-edge culture from around the globe.
The building was designed by famed architects the late Richard Trott of Columbus and Peter Eisenman of New York who also designed the Greater Columbus Convention Center. The Wexner Center’s design themes include: angels, at 12 and a quarter degrees, representing the degree to which the on-campus street grid varies from a true surveyor’s north/south axis; and, the castle-like spires reminiscent of the Old Ohio State Armory which once stood on the site. The imposing Romanesque Armory was a landmark Yost and Packard designed building that stood on the site from 1898 until it burned in 1958. The Wexner Center’s exterior is punctuated by the prairie grasses installation by landscape artist Laurie Olin.
In order to make room for the Wexner Center, a portion of the 1957 Mershon Auditorium was “cut off.” The Mershon Center, which has a 3,000 seat auditorium, was named for donor Lieutenant Colonel Ralph D. Mershon, Class of 1890.
The Wexner Center’s permanent public art installation called Groundswell, by Ohio-born artist Maya Lin, surrounds the building. Groundswell consists of 3 tiers of shaped crushed safety glass installed outdoors on the south side of the building. The first tier is visible through the café windows on the lower level of the Wexner Center … and the next tier is at ground level, visible from the main entrance and outdoor areas. The top tier is visible only from administrative offices. Lin’s work was inspired by raked gravel gardens in the Zep tradition and the pre-Columbian ceremonial and burial mounds in Ohio. Lin is best known for designing the Vietnam War Memorial in Washington, D.C.
Before you leave, make sure to walk around to the College Road side of the Wexner Center where you will find an amphitheatre-like wall. If you stand on one end, you can hear someone whisper to you from the other.