Width 8 m x Height 15m
Large-scale metal sculpture made by Artist Ted Bieler in 1976, comprising 4 tetrahedron shapes/modules ranging from small to very large. They are arranged in ascending order and are attached to each other by welded metal linkages. Sculpture is welded metal; bolted to cement wharf.
Ted Bieler's aluminum sculpture "Tetra," was a gift from the federal government to mark Kingston’s tercentenary in 1973, and was erected at Portsmouth Olympic Harbour in 1976. That same year, Montreal hosted the Summer Olympic Games, the XXIst Olympiad. The events largely took place in Montreal, but some were held elsewhere; Kingston was chosen as the location for the sailing events, which were held at Portsmouth Olympic Harbour between July 19th to 27th, 1976.
The City of Kingston and Olympic Committee decided to use the sculpture as the official Olympic flame support for the Olympic sailing events. A smaller inverted tetrahedron was installed onto the largest form to hold the flame; it was removed after the Olympics and relocated nearby at Portsmouth Olympic Harbour, along with a commemorative plaque .
Ted Bieler is a Canadian artist who was born in Kingston in 1938 and received his BFA from the Cranbrook Academy of Art, Michigan. He is known primarily for large, monumental sculptures in urban settings. His work usually includes materials like metal and wood manipulated into naturalistic forms.
