Art in the Parks
Past Exhibits (2003)
Manhattan
Roy Lichtenstein, Roy Lichtenstein at City Hall
November 18, 2003 to October 2004
City Hall Park, Manhattan
Description:
"Roy Lichtenstein at City Hall" includes four sculptures: Element #E in Tweed Courthouse, Woman: Sunlight, Moonlight in the lobby of City Hall, and Brushstroke Group and Endless Drip in City Hall Park. Roy Lichtenstein (1923-1997) was an important New York artist and a central figure in the emergence of Pop Art in the 1960's. Although best known for his paintings, Lichtenstein was also a prolific sculptor, and in the 1980's he began making monumental brushstroke sculptures. Brushstroke Group, Endless Drip and his other sculptures from this period capture the movement and color of painting on a grand scale. "'Roy Lichtenstein at City Hall' is a part of our ongoing effort to bring contemporary art to the City's parks, public spaces and treasured landmarks," said Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg. "I hope this exhibition will attract New Yorkers and visitors from around the world to Lower Manhattan." The exhibition was a result of a collaboration between Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg and Public Art Fund.
Visit the Public Art Fund website for more information.
Darrell Petit, Gondwana, for Richard Bellamy
July 29, 2003 to August 31, 2004
Riverside Park @ 91st Street, Manhattan
Description:
In Gondwana, for Richard Bellamy, Darrell Petit has gently manipulated Stony Creek Granite and American Oak into a sculpture that complements the natural landscape of Riverside Park. As the artist-in-residence at the Stony Creek Granite Quarry in Connecticut, Petit embraces the geological processes that created the granite and pushes those processes one step further using heat and splitting dowels. The title Gondwana refers to an ancient geologic time when the landmass that is now Connecticut was attached to the African continent, highlighting the permanence and geologic origins of the stone. Gondwana is a tribute in stone to Richard Bellamy, the art dealer who was instrumental in introducing Petit and now-famous artists such as Mark di Suvero, Donald Judd, and James Rosenquist, early in their artistic careers.
Related Info:
Press Release
Zigi Ben-Haim, Splendid Step
November 19, 2003 to August 25, 2004
Dag Hammarskjold Plaza, Second Avenue at East 47th Street
Description:
"My Splendid Step represents the small steps that eventually make a difference," said Zigi Ben-Haim about his sculpture currently on view at Dag Hammarskjold Plaza. According to the artist, the sculpture is a reflection of his own multi-cultural experience, and the variety of materials used are like layers of different cultures, each adapting to the other to survive. The artist was particularly drawn to Dag Hammarskjold Plaza on the corner of Second Avenue and East 47th Street for its proximity to the United Nations. The 13-foot sculpture is constructed of painted aluminum, steel mesh and cast stone. Zigi Ben-Haim was born in Baghdad in 1945, and studied art in Israel and the United States. Ben-Haim's work is represented by the Stefan Stux gallery in New York and has appeared in numerous solo and group exhibitions in the United States, Europe, and Israel.
Related Info:
Press Release
George Segal, Street Crossing
October 2003 to February 2004
Central Park, Doris C. Freedman Plaza Fifth Avenue &60th Street,
Manhattan
Description:
Street
Crossing, presented by Public Art Fund, was
made by George Segal in 1992. The sculpture consists
of seven figures in the act of moving through a fictional
crossroads. The scattered figures seem blind to one
another and to their surroundings. Segal had a particular
ability to elevate mundane day-to-day activities into
a lyrical or elegiac display, depicting his subjects
with their guard down and in a naturalistic stance.
In the early 1960's, he became known for making works
in plaster, which he created by covering his subjects
entirely in dry plaster bandages. He began working
in bronze in the 1970's, and his works in this medium,
including Street Crossing,
retain the rough-hewn textre of his familiar plaster
cast technique. In addition to this temporary presentation
of Street Crossing,
there are two sculptures by George Segal in New York's
public spaces, both of which are on permanent view:
Gay Liberation (1980)
at Sheridan Square and The
Commuters, Next Departure (1981) at Port Authority
Terminal.
Visit Public Art Fund for more information.
Various artists, Sacred Waterways
October 4, 2003 to October 16, 2003
Riverside Park, Riverside Park South, Manhattan
Description:
Sacred Waterways, an exhibition of three site-specific
artworks, celebrates New York's waterways and explores
the importance of water in spiritual myths, theology,
and the rites of many religious traditions. From the
Yoruba of Africa to the ancient Zoroastrians, water
is evoked in sacred practice as a purifying force,
a carrier of messages, and the creator. Nancy Bowen's
"Water Experiences" are fountains made of
glazed porcelain and steel. Lesley Dill's contribution,
"Air Has No Residence;" consists of floating
text from an Emily Dickinson poem translated into
Hindi. Kelly Kaczynski created a map of Manhattan,
which floats on the water's surface. The exhibition
was organized by The Interfaith Center of New York.
Related Info:
View all three artworks from Sacred Waterways
Stanford Kay, Life Signs
September 8, 2003 to November 15, 2003
Union Square Park, Manhattan
Description:
The ten signs that make up Stanford
Kay's Life Signs
project resemble roadside warning
signs. A closer look, however, reveals that the signs
are of a completely different nature. Intended to
subvert the authoritative messages delivered by traditional
signage, Kay's Life
Signs avoid the "look
out!" tone of warning signs and invite the viewer
to contemplate scenes of casual social intimacy. The
images, consisting of black silhouetted figures against
a light green background, depict scenes ranging from
the touching to the mundane - a mother kneels to zip
a child's jacket, backpack laden students stop for
a chat, a couple exchanges a kiss. The artist hopes
the signs will spur passersby to be more aware of
the small moments of tenderness that play out all
around us, yet are easily overlooked in the rush and
stress of city life.
Related Info:
Press Release
Jean Dubuffet, Four Sculptures
September 20, 2003 to November 14, 2003
Park Avenue Malls between 54th & 57th Streets, Manhattan
Description:
The current exhibitions of Jean Dubuffet sculptures on Park Avenue includes
Rédingotonat 54th Street,
Tour aux scriptions at 55th Street, Tour
aux membrures at 56th
Street, and Calamuchon
at 57th Street. The sculptures - conceived by the
artist in 1973 and cast in 2002 in accordance with
the Dubuffet Foundation and the artist's estate -
are part of the artist's Hourloupe cycle, a series of works characterized
by the use of red, white, and blue with sinuous black
lines. A prolific artst in the post-war era, Jean
Dubuffet (1901-1985) rejected traditional notions
of beauty in favor of an aesthetic inspired by grafitti
and the artwork of children and the mentally ill.
A painter and a sculptor, Dubuffet referred to his
style as "Art Brut," a term he coined in
the late 1940's.
Related Info:
View all four sculptures
Sheryl Oring, Writer's Block
September 30, 2003 to October 12, 2003
Bryant Park, Manhattan
Description:
Writer's Block, Sheryl Oring's installation of sculptural
cages filled with 600 typewriters from the 1920's
and 1930's, premiered in 1999 on Berlin's Bebelplatz,
scene of the largest of the Nazi book burnings in
the 1930's. The work is intended to evoke the coordinated
book burnings that took place in cities throughout
Germany in May 1933 and to provoke greater examination
of contemporary threats to freedom of expression.
The installation has also been shown previously at
the Jewish Museum, in Berlin; the Hungarian National
Library, in Budapest; and the Boston Public Library.
Bryant Park was selected as the site for the New York
show because of its historical significance; in May
1943, on the tenth anniversary of the German book
burnings, New Yorkers gathered here in commemoration
and protest.
Marek Sulek, A Piece of Manhattan Sky
September 11, 2003 to September 18, 2003
Foley Square, Manhattan
Description:
From the exterior, A Piece of Manhattan Sky appears to be a large white box.
But once inside, the viewer experiences a meditative
environment. At the center of the sculpture, the viewer
sits on a simple white box and looks up through a
14-foot shaft at a framed piece of the sky above.
All outside noise is muted by the thick foam walls
of the sculpture, creating a uniquely contemplative
environment. The project was organized by the Polish
Cultural Institute.
Related Info:
View the interior and exterior of A Piece of Manhattan Sky.
Wim Delvoye, Gothic
June 2003 to October 2003
Madison Square Park & Central Park, Doris C. Freedman Plaza, Manhattan
Description:
Public Art Fund presents a series of sculptural works by Belgian artist Wim
Delvoye in a two-part exhibition at Madison Square
Park and Doris C. Freedman Plaza. In his life-size
replicas of Caterpillar excavators, Delvoye juxtaposes
the delicate ornamentation of medieval architecture
with machine-age technology. The Gothic
works grow out of an ongoing series in which Delvoye
applies traditional craft and folk art practices to
various industrial objects. Works by this Belgian
artist have recently been exhibited at the New Museum
of Contemporary Art in New York and the Centre Georges
Pompidou in Paris.
For more information, visit the Public Art Fund website.
Various artists, MetroSpective
January 29, 2003 to October 2003
City Hall Park, Manhattan
Description:
MetroSpective, a retrospective celebrating ten years
of Public Art Fund projects at MetroTech Center, brings contemporary
public art back to the beautifully restored City Hall
Park for the first time since 1992. This exhibition,
presented in Lower Manhattan's most central public
park, revisits six works that were first exhibited
as part of an innovative contemporary art program
at MetroTech Center, the busy commercial and educational
hub located just over the Brooklyn Bridge in downtown
Brooklyn.
Related Info:
Find
out more about each work of art in the exhibit
Daily Plant article
Kirsten Campbell, Moving Between
May 21, 2003 to June 27, 2003
St. Nicholas Park @ 135thStreet, Manhattan
Description:
Moving Between, a suite of three wood and steel figurative
sculptures by Brooklyn-based artist Kirsten Campbell,
is the first installation of temporary public art
in St. Nicholas Park since the inception of Parks
& Recreation's Temporary Public Art Program in
1967. Made of twisted steel and wood, the three pieces
appear frozen, as if caught in a slow dance. Drawn
to the physical strength of steel, the artist often
challenges herself to transform cold, industrial pieces
of metal into fluid, organic life-like forms. The
project is co-presented by the West Harlem Art Fund.
Related Info:
Press Release
Robert Indiana, One Through Zero
February 3, 2003 to May 3, 2003
Park Avenue Malls between 60th & 70th Streets, Manhattan
Description:
One Through Zero by Robert Indiana consists of
a series of ten brightly colored numbers made of polychromed
aluminum. Each sculpture stands six-and-one-half-feet
tall. Robert Indiana is best known for his iconic
LOVE image and
his association with Pop artists of the 60's. His
paintings and sculptures are in the collections of
museums in the United States, Europe, and Asia. Mr.
Indiana, who is 74, said, "It is always the fulfillment
of an artist's dream to present his work to a greatly
varied and diverse audience, and there is no better
showcase for sculpture in the City of New York than
Park Avenue." One Through Zero is presented in coordination with The
Fund for Park Avenue.
Tom Otterness, Free Money
January 19, 2003 to April 13, 2003
Park Avenue Malls at 57th Street, Manhattan
Description:
The exhibition of this monumental bronze sculpture by Tom Otterness is the
first presentation of the work in a public venue in
New York City. Free Money depicts a couple,
sculpted in Otterness' signature whimsical style,
dancing atop a sack of money. Considered one of the
premiere public artists working in the United States,
Tom Otterness has exhibited widely and completed public
art commissions in the U.S. and abroad. Inspired by
the artistic tradition of cast bronze figurative sculpture
and adopting imagery from popular culture, Tom Otterness
creates figurative sculptures that explore themes
of power and money, fairy tales and myths.
Related Info:
Media Advisory
Queens
Julita Wojcik, My Garden
April 11, 2003 to June 8, 2003
Court Square Park, Queens
Description:
Polish artist Julita Wojcik seeks to bring the "harmony and beauty"
of gardens to urban settings. In the first exhibition
of her work outside Europe, the artist has created
a small flower garden, entitled My Garden, in Long Island City's
Court Square Park. Planted in the shape of the project's
flower "logo," My Garden is intended to be
a gentle intervention into public space one that draws
viewers in with the color and brightness of spring
flowers. The artwork is part of Architectures
of Gender: Contemporary Women's Art in Poland,
an exhibition of contemporary Polish installation
art on view at SculptureCenter.
For more information about the show, visit the SculptureCenter website.
Related Info:
Press Release
Current Exhibits
Art in the Parks Program
Temporary
Public Outdoor Art Guidelines