Kenneth Snelson's sculpture is a familiar presence in public plazas and museum galleries around the world. Composed of steel or aluminium tubes held together with tension wires, they defy gravity while assuming intricate and evocative configurations that seem to extend impossibly into space. This richly illustrated overview of Snelson's remarkable five-decade career reveals a lifelong exploration of the structures of nature. Snelson has also been engaged for many years in dialogue with physicists and mathematicians over the structure of the atom and the problems posed by quantum mechanics. Comprised of photo essays which track Snelson's artistic and personal development and his working process, as well as an analytical text by Eleanor Heartney, this book offers a full rounded portrait of a man charged with having 'designs on the universe.' 174 colour & 54 b/w illustrations