NORFOLK, VA.- The Chrysler Museum of Art is presenting To See a World in a Grain of Sand, an exhibition showcasing the expanding, crowd-sourced art project about sand and glass led by Nadine Sterk and Lonny van Ryswyck of the Dutch design studio Atelier NL, which will be on view August 12, 2022, to January 22, 2023.

With this exhibition, Atelier NL poses the question, “Have you ever truly looked at a grain of sand? Imagined it as a small part of the world, coming from somewhere, going someplace, with its own story to tell?”

For over a decade, Sterk and van Ryswyck have invited people from all over the world to send them a small amount of sand, gathered from a place that holds personal meaning. The designers turn the sand into glass by heating it at very high temperatures, revealing colors and textures that are linked to the geological source of each sample.

This global collaborative project showcases both the richness of the Earth and its potential to yield incredible beauty from the simplest materials. The warm colors of the gathered sands—yellow, red, brown—contrasts with the cool colors—blue, green, aqua—of the glasses that were melted from this raw material. “Glass is naturally tinted blue-green because of the impurities present within its raw materials,” explains Carolyn Swan Needell, Ph.D., the Chrysler’s Carolyn and Richard Barry curator of glass. “While natural sand contains the major building block of glass (silica), it also contains varying amounts of iron and other metal oxides that give glass a particular, subtle range of colors.”

Atelier NL focuses our attention on sand and glass as a way to make visible the intimate relationships people have with the Earth and their local environments. For each sample of sand that is gathered, the designers ask contributors, “What gives this sand meaning for you? Why is it important?” The personal stories that people have shared are as diverse as humankind. Topics touch on the emotional, social, cultural, historical, or environmental significance of a place. Contributors also share a photo of each gathering spot, providing an additional layer of connection and creating a deeper sense of place.




“From students and scientists to neighbors, children, and artists, we bring people into our process. By becoming part of our work, they begin to appreciate the wealth of local areas in new ways and thus identify more deeply with their surroundings,” Sterk and van Ryswyck have said.

The act of gathering sand, and reflecting upon the significance of the material, allows Atelier NL to raise awareness that it is one of the most quickly disappearing natural resources in the world. Their project serves as an archive, with each sand sample being carefully labeled and preserved.

The Chrysler Museum of Art’s exhibition will display examples of glass and glassware created by melting sands collected from around the globe, as well as magnified photographs of sand grains that draw attention to microscopic details of color, shape, and texture to demonstrate the extraordinary diversity of sand as a material.

The exhibition will notably feature some local Virginian sands. With the help of community partners and the authorization of local agencies, including Fort Monroe National Monument, Jamestown Rediscovery, Naval Station (NAVSTA) Norfolk, the Portsmouth Department of Museums and Tourism, and the Nottoway Indian Tribe of Virginia, the Chrysler team has gathered several samples from locations within the region for this exhibition to contemplate and celebrate the places we call home.

Photographs of the locations where the sands were collected, and personal stories about the significance of these sands, will accompany a display of the actual sand samples and glasses melted from them. All sands were collected with great respect for the environment and adherence to local regulations and with the approval and permission of local authorities. The exhibition will also include experimental glassmaking debris and tools from the Chrysler Museum’s Perry Glass Studio after hosting Nadine Sterk as part of the 2022 Visiting Artist Series from August 18–21.

To See a World in a Grain of Sand is organized by the Chrysler Museum of Art. The exhibition is supported as part of the Dutch Culture USA program by the consulate General of the Netherlands in New York and with funds from the Art Alliance for Contemporary Glass and the Netherlands-America Foundation. The Visiting Artist Series with Nadine Sterk is supported as part of the Dutch Culture USA program by the consulate General of the Netherlands in New York and is sponsored in part by the Rutter Family Art Foundation and the Art Alliance for Contemporary Glass.