Acclaimed Artist Using Yarn To Brighten Up Crisp & Green’s Patio
Contemporary Minnesota artist Eric Rieger, aka HOTTEA, has been commissioned to produce massive installations around the world, from New York, Brazil and Cancun to a Bon Iver concert at the Sydney Opera House.
Now he’s in the North Loop, slowly spinning yarn around the old railing outside Crisp & Green to create colorful grids in shades of green and grey.
“The grid kind of makes the horizontal railings disappear,” he said, “because your eye only sees the grid and doesn’t really see the railing.”
Rieger said the design is an homage to the North Loop and the clean lines of the historic brick buildings, displayed in the colors of Crisp & Green. The company’s patio is at the side of a 108-year-old building on what used to be a loading dock.
“So many people have been rolling down their windows or walking by and saying ‘we love this, it looks so good,'” he said.
It’s a time-consuming process, slowed down by the fact that temperatures have dropped and Rieger can’t wear gloves while doing it. But he hopes to have the work finished by the end of this week.
By Mike Binkley, North Loop volunteer