Magnetic Field, a sculpture by Damián Ortega, is the latest addition to Claremont McKenna College’s Walker Collection of Public Art.

Suspended approximately 30 feet in the atrium of CMC’s new Robert Day Sciences Center, the work comprises 18 rings of stainless-steel round bar, a stainless-steel sphere, and 1,476 colorful glass spheres of various sizes.

The work depicts a “diagram of the Earth’s magnetic field—a shield that protects the planet from solar storms and its potent radiation, thus enabling life to thrive on our planet”. Ortega said he felt energized to not only have his work in the campus collection, but to help “create an identity” for the innovative building that will house the College’s Kravis Department of Integrated Sciences.

Ribbon cutting of the installation on september 26, 2025. 

+ about Damián Ortega 

+ about magnetic field