The wall sculpture consists of two elements, a large ellipse and an armature that holds it, constructed of aluminum plate with deep welds. Sam Gilliam has long been interested in sculptural and theatrical work that interacts with the space it inhabits. He began draping his canvases and this led to his public sculpture such as this piece, where aluminum has taken the place of a canvas. In the artist's words, the work "calls to mind movement, circuits, speed, technology, and passenger ships...the colors used in the piece... refer to colors of the respective subway lines. The predominant use of blue provides one with a visual solid in a transitional area that is near subterranean."

Sam Gilliam (1933-2022) was one of the great innovators in postwar American painting. He emerged from the Washington, D.C. scene in the mid-1960s. His canonical Drape paintings expanded upon the tenets of Abstract Expressionism in entirely new ways. Suspending stretcher-less lengths of painted canvas from the walls or ceilings of exhibition spaces, Gilliam transformed his medium and the contexts in which it was viewed.

Gilliam has been the subject of solo exhibitions at major venues including the Museum of Modern Art, The Studio Museum in Harlem, Whitney Museum of American Art, and the Corcoran Gallery of Art. His work is included in over 50 public collections.