Art in the Parks
Past Exhibits (2004)
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.
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
Allan McCollum, Perfect Vehicles
September 2, 2004 to January 15, 2005
Central Park, Doris C. Freedman Plaza, Manhattan
Description:
Public Art Fund presents three new Perfect Vehicles at the southeast corner of Central Park. This will be the first time in more than a decade that McCollum has made new works in this iconic sculptural series, and it will also be the artist's first-ever outdoor exhibition in New York. McCollum, who came to the art world's attention with his Surrogate Paintings of the late 1970s, has continued to create wide-ranging conceptual artworks that deftly examine the nature of art and other culturally valued objects, the practice of museum display, and the relationship between originals and copies. Installed at the southeast entrance to Central Park, McCollum's Perfect Vehicles will form an unlikely counterpart to the more traditional statuary at nearby Grand Army Plaza and elsewhere throughout the park. More information available at www.publicartfund.org.
Julian Opie, Animals, Buildings, Cars and People
October 28, 2004 to October 14, 2005
City Hall Park, Broadway, Park Row & Chambers Street, Manhattan
Image: Bijou, model, 2004
Description:
With nine installations in and around City Hall Park, this exhibition of sculptures by contemporary British artist Julian Opie will be the artist's most comprehensive U.S. solo show to date, featuring new commissions alongside some of his most iconic works. Succinct and colorful, Opie's graphic depictions of modern life portray the familiar physical world, from fashion models to farm animals, from skyscrapers to village churches. Opie distills his images from the world around him, rendering them in the universally recognizable style of commercial graphics. He reduces the thing at hand to its most essential lines and color planes. The resulting images – straightforward pictograms with bold lines, clean edges, and bright surfaces – read as clearly as traffic signs. Animals, Buildings, Cars and People was organized by Public Art Fund and sponsored by Forest City Ratner Companies.
Related Info:
Image gallery of the showMap of Exhibition (PDF, 68KB)
Tom Otterness, Tom Otterness on Broadway
September 20, 2004 to March 18, 2005
Locations along Broadway in Manhattan
Description:
Tom Otterness on Broadway, an exhibition of 25 bronze sculptures by New York sculptor Tom Otterness stretching from Columbus Circle to Washington Heights, represents the first large display of temporary public art on the Broadway Malls, the landscaped medians on Broadway from 60 th to 168 th Street. Considered one of the premier public artists working in the United States, Tom Otterness has exhibited widely and completed commissions in North America and abroad. His stylized bronze figures combine into sculptural ensembles that explore the range of human experience, from grand ambition to common foibles, plucking imagery and themes from popular culture and subtly transforming them into humorous commentary. Tom Otterness on Broadway is a collaboration of the New York City Department of Parks & Recreation, The Broadway Mall Association, Marlborough Gallery and Tom Otterness Studio.
Related Info:
Interactive Map
Mark di Suvero, Aesope's Fables - Beyond Double Tetrahedron
June 2004 to March 2005
Madison Square Park, between 5th and Madison Aves, E. 23rd and E. 26th Streets , Manhattan
Description:
Marking the fifth year of Mad Square Art, a program of the Madison Square Park Conservancy, three monumental sculptures by the internationally renowned sculptor Mark di Suvero will be on view in Madison Square Park. The three sculptures on view demonstrate the expressive range of di Suvero's epic steel constructions, from the classically vertical Double Tetrahedron to the organic forms in Beyond. A force in contemporary sculpture since the 1950's, di Suvero is one of the most important American artists to have emerged from the Abstract Expressionist era. His sculptures have been exhibited in citywide exhibitions in Paris, Venice and Stuttgart and his works are in the collections of museums in the U.S. and abroad.
Related Info:
Daily Plant article
Leonard Ursachi, Refuge
September 18, 2004 to December 19, 2004
Duarte Square, Manhattan
Description
Standing at the intersection of Canal Street and Avenue of the Americas, Leonard Ursachi's Refuge, a bunker-shaped structure enveloped in white feathers, is a study in contrasts. Located at the border of Lower Manhattan, this seemingly fragile structure will stand out from a high traffic setting and will invite passersby to escape for a moment from the hectic urban streetscape. "Every border has its bunkers – physical and psychological —reminding us where it is we belong," said Ursachi. "My bunker projects, with their twin references to war and home, address the complexities inherent in the creation and maintenance of identity." Refuge has no entrance, and in lieu of windows, there are two recessed, sky-blue mirrors. One can only imagine the interior – the artist wants visitors to Duarte Square to be confronted by their own reflection in the mirrored windows as they approach the artwork. It is through this reflective imagining that Ursachi challenges viewers to rethink their environment and to find their own personal refuge in the artwork.
Related Info:
Press Release
Dorothy Frankel, Relationship-Connection, I Love You#1, L.O.V.E. #2
June 2004 to December 2004
Carl Schurz Park, Manhattan
Description:
Located along John Finley Walk at 86th Street, Dorothy Frankel's bronze sculptures depict human hands "speaking" the words for love and connection in sign language. The three works are part of a larger series of work based on sign language that Dorothy Frankel completed in recent years. Slightly larger than life, the sculptures are modeled in terra cotta from a life model and then cast in bronze. "The hand gestures of these sculptures represent a form of visual poetry and communicate powerful and positive images of the human condition," said Frankel, who lives and works in Sag Harbor, New York. Reflecting Frankel's interest in surface color and texture, the patinas range from earthy red to dark green, and the bronze castings capture the imprint of the artist's hands.
Related Info:
Press Release
Various Artists, Freedom of Expression National Monument
August 27, 2004 to November 13, 2004
Foley Square, Manhattan
Image: © Charlie Samuels, 2004, Courtesy of Creative Time.
Description:
"You are cordially invited to step up and speak up," reads the plaque adorning Freedom of Expression National Monument, a public artwork by architect Laurie Hawkinson, performer John Malpede, and visual artist Erika Rothenberg, presented by Creative Time and Lower Manhattan Cultural Council. Nestled between the bustling federal, state, and city courthouses, Freedom will provide a platform for people to speak their minds. The project was originally installed in 1984 for Art on the Beach (1978-1985), Creative Time's annual program that featured collaborations between architects, performers, and visual artists on the Battery Park City Landfill created by the construction of the World Trade Center. The piece captured the imagination and quickly became one of New Yorks most cherished artworks. For more information about the project and events at the site, visit the Creative Time website.
Bernar Venet, Indeterminate Lines
May 2004 to October 2004
Park Avenue Malls, between East 52nd Street & East 53rd Street, Manhattan
Images: Three Indeterminate Lines, 2003 (South side of 54th Street), Bernar Venet, Studio Archives
Description:
The first outdoor exhibition of Venet's work in New York City, this exhibition features works from the artist's "Indeterminate Line" series. Venet's sculpture has been exhibited in major cities in the United States, Asia, Europe and South America. The artist first began producing monumental linear improvisations in steel in the early 1980s and these "Indeterminate Lines" are considered by many to be his trademark work. The works to be exhibited on Park Avenue are made of cor-ten steel and stand 9 feet high and range from 12 to 15 feet long. Using a technique that has been described as Action Sculpture in slow motion, Venet carefully balances his vision for the material with the steel's natural responses to the warping effects of pressure and heat. Presented in cooperation with the Sculpture Committee of The Fund for Park Avenue.
Related Info:
Press Release
Franz West, Mercury
June 7, 2004 to August 31, 2004
Central Park, Doris C. Freedman Plaza, Manhattan
Description:
Public Art Fund presents the first major outdoor survey of sculpture by Austrian artist Franz West at Lincoln Center and at Doris C. Freedman Plaza in Central Park, where two works from the artist's "Mercury" series are on view. The title is a galaxy-themed reference to West's previous work, Moon Project, a group of furniture pieces he exhibited in The Museum of Modern Art's sculpture garden in 1997. With their long, low-lying bodies and irregular bumpy appendages, the works function both as public art and outdoor furniture, providing a variety of seats and perches for passersby. Franz West lives and works in Vienna, where he was born in 1947. He has exhibited internationally for more than three decades in galleries and museums, and at major festivals. Additional information is available on the Public Art Fund website.
Janet Cardiff, Her Long Black Hair
June 17, 2004 to September 13, 2004
Central Park, Manhattan
Description:
Public Art Fund presents a new audio walk for Central Park by internationally acclaimed artist Janet Cardiff. Cardiff's first-ever outdoor work in New York, "Her Long Black Hair," a 35-minute journey that begins at Central Park South, transforms an everyday stroll in the park into an enthralling psychological and physical experience. Like Cardiff's previous walks – which she has created for libraries, gardens, forests, museums, and city streets – "Her Long Black Hair" guides listeners on a site-specific walk, weaving Central Park's historic landmarks, from Balto to the Bandshell, into the fabric of its soundtrack of spoken words and sound effects. Additional information is available on the Public Art Fund website.
Related Info: View details and the schedule for "Her Long Black Hair".
Dennis Oppenheim, Entrance to a Garden
May 2004 to August 2004
Tramway Plaza, Second Ave beween East 59th & East 60th Streets, Manhattan
Description:
Fusing architecture and fashion with art, Dennis Oppenheim's monumental "Entrance to a Garden" depicts an abstracted shirt - complete with a tie and lapels - in steel and perforated galvanized mesh. The tunnel bisects the center of the 25-foot sculpture, allowing commuters and passersby to walk through the artwork. After this New York debut, the sculpture will be installed in Genoa, Italy in October 2004, where the tunnel will lead viewers into a lush garden. Previous outdoor installations of Dennis Oppenheim's sculpture in New York include Tar Roses at Bryant Park in 2000 and Engagement at 23rd Street and Broadway in 1988.
Related Info:
Press Release
Victor Matthews, Beyond Metamorphosis
June 7, 2004 to June 20, 2004
Battery Park, Manhattan
Description:
Spanning across the park's three-acre lawn, Victor Matthews will constuct
a grid of nearly 3,000 umbrellas, each individually
hand-painted with a rendering of a Monarch butterfly.
In his studio, the artist painted the butterfly image
directly onto cotton canvas umbrellas using black,
orange, and yellow water-based colors. Whether viewed
from near or afar, the umbrellas will create a stunning
and vibrant impression of a migrating fluttter of
flame-colored butterflies. "The piece explores
themes of transformation, migration and regeneration,"
says Matthews. "Butterflies make an obvious spiritual
gesture that's often overlooked: of a life that never
ends and a spirit that never dies". The exhibition
is fiscally sponsored by the Lower Manhattan Cultural
Council (LMCC).
Related Info:
Press Release
Various artists, 2004
Whitney Biennial
March 10,2004 to May 30, 2004
Locations throughout Central Park, Manhattan
Description:
Public Art Fund and the Whitney Museum of American Art present works by 7 artists
in Central Park in conjunction with the 2004 Whitney
Biennial. The exhibition includes nine installations
by seven artists throughout the entire length of Central
Park, from 60th Street to 110th Street. Building upon
the outdoor presentation of Biennial works in 2002,
this year's show includes artists' site-specific reactions
to the park as well as several sculptural projects
that were conceived independently of location.
Related Info:
Daily
Plant article
Queens
Lina Puerta, Confesiones desde el Vientre (Confessions from the Womb)
September 24, 2004 to December 1, 2004
Manuel de Dios Unanue Triangle, Queens
Description:
Located at the intersection of Roosevelt Avenue, 83rd Street and Baxter Avenue in Queens, Lina Puerta's first foray into the field of public art pays tribute to the powerful life stories of immigrant women from Central and South America. Confesiones desde el Veintre, which translates as "confessions from the womb," originated from Puerta's interviews with twelve women she met while teaching ceramics workshops at non-profit community organizations in Jackson Heights, Queens. Nestled in a busy triangle park adjacent to the elevated 7 train, Puerta's seven teardrop-shaped sculptures will be lifted into the canopy of trees on 15-foot poles. Sewn from colorful synthetic fabric, the sculptures cradle small figures within blue plastic mesh. Each sculpture is further adorned with designs inspired by pre-Columbian symbols of power and other elements making specific reference to each woman's story.
Related Info:
Press Release
Sebastian Romo, Joint Point (Displacement), 2004
November 4, 2004 to November 20, 2004
King Park, between 152nd & 153rd Streets on Jamaica Avenue,
Queens
Description:
Joint Point (Displacement) is a signpost that appears to have fallen from the sky. At the core of the project is the notion that in a globalized network, every place is the center of the world; there is no place that is isolated. That Romo flew to New York from Mexico to create this public sculpture for Jamaica Flux is evidence of how closely connected the world is - fitting for an exhibition that is about connecting people in Jamaica with those who are living in other parts of New York City and elsewhere. This sculpture and a sound project by Tracie Morris were exhibited in King Manor in King Park, between 152nd and 153rd Street on Jamaica Avenue, as part of Jamaica Flux: Workspaces & Windows. For more information about this multi-disciplinary, indoor/outdoor collaborative project in art and non-art spaces along Jamaica Avenue, visit the Jamaica Center for Arts & Learning website.
Brooklyn
Noah Baen, Persephone
Winter 2004 to Winter 2005
Lentol Garden, Williamsburg, Brooklyn
Description:
Within yards of the gritty Brooklyn Queens Expressway, an ecological sculpture by artist Noah Baen reclines under a hawthorn tree. Persephone was installed on January 11 in Lentol Garden, a bucolic park on Graham Avenue north of Meeker Avenue in Williamsburg . Persephone is a quilt of leaves clustered within garden netting, its form recalling a sleeping figure slowly reuniting with the landscape. Named for the Greek goddess connected with the cycle of seasons, Persephone will sleep under her tree through the winter, spring, summer and into fall. As the seasons progress, the natural processes of growth and decay will gradually break down the leaves. Seeds, gathered with the leaves or blown in, may sprout, causing plants to grow up through the sculpture. Eventually, fall will return and another year's withered leaves will descend upon Persephone.
Current Exhibits
Art in the Parks Program
Temporary
Public Outdoor Art Guidelines