As the only integrated interior artwork in Bellevue City Hall, Current flows across the entire length of the 14,000-square-foot lobby like a river—a metaphor for the stream of ideas and activities within the building, and a reference to the underground waterway that runs near the site.

In a process called “seeding,” artist Linda Beaumont and her fabrication team hand-placed an immense volume of exotic materials in the terrazzo floor, including hand-blown glass cane, crushed iridescent glass, multi-colored beads, and semi-precious stones such as jasper, turquoise, and mother of pearl. The composition was inspired by the line work and delicate watercolors found in Japanese woodblock prints. It pulses with subtle shifts that dance in the light and echo the movement of water, creating a luminous field of color and energy underfoot.

There is a current revealed, one that rewinds, reweaves, and respects the flowing energy of life. –Linda Beaumont

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The piece also includes four quotations in cut brass, which the artist imagined would be found like treasures on a beach. Among them is Heraclitus (540–480 BC): “You could not step twice into the same river, for other waters are ever flowing onto you.”

In 2007, the National Terrazzo and Mosaic Association awarded its Job of the Year honor to Beaumont and her long-time fabrication collaborators, General Terrazzo and Tile of Renton, for this work.

About the Location

Bellevue City Hall

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