Dream of Flight
Location: General Aviation Terminal Atrium
Artist: Heath Satow
Installation: February 2004

Artist Heath Satow's vision for this piece came from long ago, when men dreamed of flying. His graces the lobby of the airport's 22,000 square foot General Aviation Terminal.

“This piece is intended to remind visitors of a time before we soared among the clouds,” he said. “A time when our ancestors dreamed of reaching the heavens, and for us as children, the awe we had for flight before experiencing our first take-off.”

It consists of large stainless steel figures looking wistfully to the heavens. A mobile above the figures consists of 1,000 pieces of cut stained glass in cobalt and light blue symbolizing the images of flight found in the clouds.

Installation of the mobile took three days as each piece of glass was attached by hand to fine stainless steel thread and hung from a metal frame near the building's ceiling. The final day of the installation included the placement of the figures.

Earlier Flight
Location: Parking Garage Atrium
Artist: Dunne Dittman
Installation: April 2008

Soaring above the parking garage atrium is Earlier Flight, which pays homage to the early days of air travel. Installation was designed and built by former Southwest Airlines employee Dunne Dittman, who views the piece as a vision of a bygone era of suitcases adorned with destination stickers that represented a simpler time for air travel.

Gate of Earth
Location: North Terminal Entry
Artist: Lydia Rubio; Miami, FL
Installation: October 2008

Artist Lydia Rubio's commission consists of two pieces featured in light wells located at the entrance to Terminal 2. The first piece “Gate of Earth” is an aluminum and steel tree that begins outside and appears to enter the inside of the terminal.

The artwork considers feelings associated with leaving or returning home or traveling into the world. Traditional North Carolina symbols — trees and birds — are combined with the words of North Carolina writer Thomas Wolfe.

The south light well work will represent the elements of air and water, which are symbolized by a spiral that builds upward from a sea shell. This sculpture evokes an upward growth, a transformation from solid to light. This piece will be installed in the winter of 2011.

Terminal 1 Tile Art
Location: Pedestrian tunnel between Terminal 1 and the parking garage
Artists: Drew and Linda Krouse, Robert Johnson
Installation Date: September 2002

North Carolina artists Drew and Linda Krouse along with Painter Robert Johnson created the airport's first permanent piece of art, which is displayed in the pedestrian tunnel connecting the parking garage with Terminal 1.

Each mural is composed of 70-pound sections measuring 4 feet by 2 feet handmade by the artists, which are based in the pottery center of Seagrove, N.C. Johnson, from Burnsville, N.C., researched and painted landscapes for the work.

Terminal 2 Signature Art
Location: Heritage Room, Terminal 2 Ticketing Lobby
Artist: Dunne Dittman
Installation Date: October 2009

Reminiscent of fine gems in a storefront window, Dunne Dittman's second artwork for RDU illustrates the appreciation the Airport Authority has for the millions of travelers who choose to fly to and from the airport each year.

More than 5,000 signatures from citizens of the Research Triangle Region and beyond were digitally etched into a six foot by four foot sea foam glass. They were captured in October 2008 during the Airport Authority's open house to showcase Terminal 2. At that time, visitors were asked to leave their signature on a piece of art that would one day be displayed in the terminal.

The glass is illuminated by LED lights and is encased in a contemporary stand made of reclaimed ambrosia maple and walnut.

Traingle Icon
Location: Adjacent to the parking garage entry plaza
Artist: Wellington Reiter
Installation Date: December 2003

As motorists approach RDU they are greeted by an outdoor sculpture that is a symbol of flight and North Carolina's role in aviation history. RDU's Triangle Icon commemorates the 100th anniversary of powered flight by Orville and Wilbur Wright on December 17, 1903. The sculpture evokes the spirit of invention and serves as a symbol for the Raleigh-Durham region.

The Icon is a joint project of the Raleigh-Durham Airport Authority, Durham and Wake Counties and the cities of Durham and Raleigh.

Wingspun
Location: International Arrivals Corridor
Artist: Ellen Driscoll of Brooklyn, N.Y.
Installation: October 2008

Ellen Driscoll's glass installation extends 780 feet along the international arrivals corridor, which overlooks concourse C. The piece provides visitors with a poetic set of coordinates to guide them as they disembark from their international flight and walk to U.S. Customs.

The design complements the “over-under” gesture of the terminal roof and mimics the movement of a bird's wing, as well as the interaction between the warp and weft in weaving, which is also a Terminal 2 design theme. A horizontal band traverses the mid-section of each glass panel and is a repeat pattern of a simple “basketweave” structure.

Driscoll's piece combines large gestures easily caught by those walking at a quick pace, as well as more detailed “micro gestures” that repeat travelers will discover. The larger gestures of the motion of a bird's wing in flight, along with an insect wing in flight, and the helix of DNA are linked to each other, while being informally linked to the roof structure.