Image credit: Phyllida Barlow; In-process image of antic, 2023 at 4th State Metals, NY. Corten steel, fiberglass, lacquer. Courtesy of the artist’s estate and Hauser & Wirth. Photo: Asya Gorovits, courtesy Public Art Fund, NY. Artwork a part of Phyllida Barlow: PRANK, presented by Public Art Fund in City Hall Park, New York City, June 6, 2023–November 26, 2023.
On June 6, 2023, Public Art Fund will debut PRANK, the late British artist Phyllida Barlow’s final series of large-scale freestanding sculptures. This exhibition of seven new steel and fiberglass sculptures in City Hall Park offers the opportunity to experience her rich artistic legacy in the public sphere. As Barlow’s first series of outdoor sculptures made from robust long-lasting materials, PRANK marks a notable departure from the artist’s typical use of materials suitable for indoor display, extending her highly influential practice into the realm of public art.
Li Shan (1686-ca. 1762). Flowers. Birds, and Insects (leaf 3). Album of 12 leaves, ink and color on paper. 14 5/8 x 13 in. (36.9 x 32.9 cm). Tianjin Museum.
China Institute Gallery will reopen on March 23rd with a landmark exhibition of Chinese flower-and-bird paintings. The largest survey of its kind outside of China and the first in the U.S., Flowers on a River: The Art of Chinese Flower-and-Bird Painting, 1368-1911, Masterworks from Tianjin Museum and Changzhou Museum will showcase masterpieces of Chinese painting across five centuries. The exhibition will be on view through June 25, 2023. The exhibition marks the first showing of masterpieces traveling from China to the U.S. since the onset of the pandemic.
Image of The Gera III courtesy of Museum of Jewish Heritage
In fall 2023, New York’s Museum of Jewish Heritage – A Living Memorial to the Holocaust will launch its first exhibition developed for elementary school-aged students. Courage to Act: Rescue in Denmark will commemorate the 80th anniversary of one of the most effective episodes of mass resistance in modern history.
The annual design competition challenges teams of architects, engineers and contractors to build sculptures made entirely out of unopened cans of food. The large-scale sculptures are placed on display and later donated to City Harvest to help provide families with a holiday meal. This annual event will take place from November 2-14.
Bronze Bas-Relief Memorial at 10 House donated by Holland & Knight
It has been twenty-one years since September 11, 2001, a day the world will never forget. On this day, families and friends lost 2,983 souls in the attacks on our Country. By hosting commemorative events, we hope to pay tribute to the victims and their memory, through collection, preservation and exhibition of materials and digital artifacts. Here are just a few thoughtful ways to spend September 11th in 2022.
This year, River to River Festival artists look to nature, ritual, and metaphysical wonders to offer a hopeful perspective on the future of public space.
The 12,000-square-foot exhibition features over 750 original objects and survivor testimonies from the Museum’s collection. Together, these objects tell a global story through a local lens, rooted in objects donated by survivors and their families, many of whom settled in New York and nearby places.
Rosemary Allison: The Great Connection Installation view courtesy of the artist
Inside Rosemary Ollison’s home in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, an intricate art environment has evolved over the course of 30 years. She has obsessively filled her space with homemade rugs and window treatments, textile constructions and quilts made with leather, denim and a wide assortment of other found materials, and stacks of drawings documenting her life. Her exuberant self-made world is a tribute to the hardships she has overcome, the power she feels as a Black woman, and her unwavering devotion to God.
‘Chris ‘DAZE’ Ellis, Is this seat token?’, 2020; acrylic and spray paint on canvas; 51 x 53 in.; 129.5 x 134.6cm
P·P·O·W Gallery will open its doors to Chris ‘Daze’ Ellis’s second solo exhibition with the gallery entitled ‘Give It All You Got’. Born in 1962 in New York City, Daze began his career as part of the second of graffiti writers, painting New York City subway cars in 1976 while attending The High School of Art and Design.
The 29th Annual Canstruction New York, raising money for City Harvest, will take place from November 4 ~ 15 at Brookfield Place, this year as an in-person event!
Boris Lurie, ‘Roll Call in Concentrationn Camp, 1946’; 24 x 36 in. (61 x 91.4 cm); Oil on canvas board. Image courtesy of Boris Lurie Art Foundation
The Museum of Jewish Heritage – A Living Memorial to the Holocaust announces Boris Lurie: Nothing To Do But To Try, a first-of-its-kind exhibition on the 20th century artist and Holocaust survivor and the Museum’s first contemporary art show.
The exhibition is centered around Lurie’s earliest body of work (the paintings and drawings in his so-called “War Series”), as well as never-before-exhibited objects and ephemera from his personal archive, presenting a portrait of the artist reckoning with devastating trauma, haunting memories, and an elusive, lifelong quest for freedom. In drawing together artistic practice and historical chronicle, Boris Lurie: Nothing To Do But To Try is fertile new territory for the Museum of Jewish Heritage, offering a survivor’s searing visual testimony within a significant art historical context.
Daniel Anderson: XO World at One World Trade Center, West Plaza. Image courtesy of the artist.
The 40th anniversary of World Peace Day (September 21, 2021) will coincide with the launch of a traveling art exhibit aimed at spreading equality, unity, peace, and love, and understanding of diverse cultures worldwide. Artist Daniel Anderson’s “Share the Love” XO sculptures will be unveiled at a ribbon cutting ceremony in New York City at 1 World Trade Center and Oculus World Trade. The two monumental sculptures are XO World and XO Play.
Experience the Times of Bill Cunningham at The Seaport
Visitors will be transported into the vibrant world of legendary street photographer and fashion historian Bill Cunningham at an immersive installation opening in The Seaport on September 12 during New York Fashion Week.
Part of New York City’s cultural fabric, Cunningham photographed both everyday people and famed personalities like Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, Anna Wintour, and Andy Warhol on the streets of Manhattan, and at both fashion shows and social events, for more than six decades.
Art On The Ave has taken a giant step south with a new exhibition, in collaboration with the Downtown Alliance. The Downtown artwork will take you from Park Row, past the Fulton Center and the Oculus, down Broadway past Maiden Lane and Liberty to Bridge Street. Here is a sneak-peek at the exhibition, aptly named ~ Resiliency.
Pixar Putt, the ultimate pop-up, open-air mini-golf experience, popped up at Pier A in Battery Park City, open from August 1st through October 31, 2021! The colorful mini-golf experience is made up of 18 fun and interactive holes inspired by the stories, characters, and icons from some of Pixar’s most beloved films.
Look for characters from Toy Story, The Incredibles, Monsters, Inc, Finding Nemo, Coco, A Bug’s Life, Wall-E, and Inside Out.
Lady Liberty’s Little Sister arrived! Image via The Statue of Liberty-Ellis Island Foundation, Inc.
Lady Liberty’s ‘Little Sister’ will be on view from July 1st to July 5th on Ellis Island! Arriving in New York City for Independence Day, and in Washington, D.C. on Bastille Day, the 9-foot, bronze statue of Lady Liberty was created from the original plaster model of 1878 by Auguste Bartholdi, currently exhibited at the Museum of Arts and Crafts in Paris.
This event will happen 135 years after the Statue of Liberty was first unveiled on Liberty Island, celebrating freedom and the friendship between France and the U.S. After an unprecedented hard year and strict travel restrictions between our two countries, this project stems from a need to “renew our vows” and celebrate the shared values that are at the heart of the longstanding partnership between France and the U.S. This project will also highlight the artistic, technological and logistical prowess of bringing this new statue to America, and tell a modern tale of successful international cooperation.
Melvin Edwards: Brighter Days will include five works created between 1970 and 1996, as well as a new sculpture commissioned in 2020, which was the originally anticipated date for this exhibit. Now, stepping out of our COVID-19 shutdown, this Public Art Fund exhibition will finally unveil in City Hall Park on May 4th, 2021.
Image via Press Preview, YouTube MVVO Art, Ad Art, May 3, 2021
MvVO ART, creator of AD ART SHOW, announced that AD ART SHOW 2021 will return to the monumental screens inside the Oculus at the Westfield World Trade Center in New York (May 1 to 30, 2021) with Chad Smith—Red Hot Chili Peppers, Grammy Award-winning drummer and fine artist—as the featured guest artist and host of the show’s virtual opening on May 3, 2021 during Frieze week (follow MvVO ART on Instagram for more information). Artworks by Chad Smith will be exhibited on the monumental screens of the Oculus at Westfield World Trade Center the final weekend of the show (May 29 & 30, 2021).
Across the path from the SeaGlass Carousel is The Battery Playscape, an innovative world of play and creativity, is now complete and open to the public, thanks to The Battery Conservancy (TBC). The new 1.4-acre Playscape triples the size of the current playground, responding to the growing number of Lower Manhattan families, the expanding elementary schools, and the increase visitation of children from all five boroughs. The Grand Opening took place in December, 2021.
Electric Dandelions by Abram Santa Cruz and Liquid PXL. Image via seaport district nyc
The Seaport District will light up the sky with the installation, Electric Dandelions by Abram Santa Cruz and Liquid PXL. The ten elegant 28-foot structures resemble innocent flowers during the day, and feature 41 light tubes that crop out from a spherical center, allowing LED animations to work their magic at night.
Talking Heads at 85 Broad Street. Image via The Downtown Alliance
The Downtown Alliance just unveiled its fourth public art installation ~ two glowing projects that include a stunning pair of two 21-foot-tall sculptures entitled Talking Heads, and the sculpture “C/C” ~ a bench for seating, which casts complex shadows by day and transforms into a colorful LED light show at night. Both public art projects are on loan from Amsterdam’s Light Art Collection. Continue reading “The Downtown Alliance Unveils Two New Light Installations at 85 Broad Street”→
Jean Shin: Floating Maize is a stunning new installation floating high above the grand stairway in the Winter Garden area of Brookfield Place. On the ground level, Jean Shin: The Last Straw. Let’s step inside.
Rendering of proposed design by artist Thomas Denny for Trinity Church. Image bia MBB/ NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission
On June 2, 2020, the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission reviewed proposals from Trinity Church and Murphy Burnham & Buttrick (MBB) Architects to replace its multi-story stained glass window located above the entrance with a commissioned stained glass window designed by British stained glass artist Thomas Denny. The proposal was approved.
In addition, Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) also granted Trinity Church necessary approvals to modify signage on the grounds of both the historic church and cemetery grounds. This includes digital displays, flagpole signage, and bronze placards.
From past performances, National Yiddish Theatre Folksbiene, image courtesy NYTF on Facebook
In a time of great anxiety, several of our museums, galleries and educational institutions are stepping up with free online programming. The National Yiddish Theatre Folksbiene, who brought us ‘Fiddler on the Roof‘ in Yiddish, has stepped up with ‘Folksbiene LIVE!’, a social media performance series. Can’t get to Broadway? Check out the online stage at Folksbiene! Live.
NYC Parks + The Battery Conservancy. Photo credit: NYC Parks/Daniel Avila
NYC Parks Commissioner Mitchell J. Silver, FAICP, today joined The Battery Conservancy President Warrie Price, Manhattan Deputy Borough President Matthew Washington, City Council Member Margaret Chin, Community Board 1 Vice Chair Tammy Meltzer, and community members to break ground on The Battery Playscape reconstruction project.
The landmarked 120 Broadway, also know as the Equitable Building, has undergone a two-year, $50 million renovation. We were pleased to be invited to take a look inside, from the historic Banker’s Club space on the 40th floor to the newly created mural project on the third floor, and beautifully restored lobby. Come along, as we take in the new, while reflecting on the old.
In keeping with the history of The Battery as the home to the first New York Aquarium, The Battery Conservancy included a design for an aquatic carousel when designing the park’s interior. The stunning carousel opened in 2015.
Update: The Carousel announced that they will reopen on Saturday, May 1, 2021!
Water We going To Do About Hunter? ~ in a unique design of the Brooklyn Bridge and Watertower by AKF Group
The 27th Annual Canstruction New York Design/Build Competition will take place from November 7-21, 2019, on exhibit within the beautiful ten-story, glass-vaulted, Winter Garden Atrium at Brookfield Place.
Fraunces Tavern celebrated its 300th Anniversary (1719-2019) on October 1st, 2019. It commemorated the construction of one of the oldest historic sites in New York City ~ a place where General George Washington once stood. Let’s take a look inside.
Seaport Community Mural Project winners. Images via Manhattan Borough President, Gale Brewer
The winners of the Seaport Community Mural Project were announced by Manhattan Borough President, Gale Brewer and the New York City Emergency Management (NYCEM), with the winning designs and artists names above and below.
The Museum of Jewish Heritage reopened its doors to the largest and most extensive exhibition on Auschwitz ever presented in the United States, featuring more than 700 original objects and 400 photographs ~ Auschwitz. Not long ago. Not far away on September 13, 2020.
“First and foremost is the safety of our visitors and our employees,” says Jack Kliger, President & CEO of the Museum. “As people venture out again seeking educational experiences in safe public places, museums such as ours are uniquely qualified to welcome them back. We also recognize that many people had purchased tickets to see Auschwitz. Not long ago. Not far away. before it was due to close this year and are pleased to announce that we have arranged for the exhibition to remain with us through May 2, 2021.”
At the end of this post, safety precautions, new museum hours and ticketing information can be found.
Below, we begin with the arrival of the exhibition, Auschwitz. Not long ago. Not far away in May, 2019.
It’s been seven years since Zuccotti Park was filled with the protest movement known as Occupy Wall Street, which began on September 17, 2011. In remembrance of the event, Brookfield Properties installed the artwork, Rose III, blooming in the northwest corner of the Park.
Interspersed among the current installation, Rose III, are images taken during Occupy Wall Street in 2011.
We’ve been following the Downtown ‘Mural Project‘ in and around the 2WTC and 3WTC construction lots, now surrounded by a number of gorgeous new murals. With the Oculus in the background, the large-scale mural project takes viewers from Vesey and Greenwich Streets, down Church and Dey Streets to Cortlandt Street.
The 1930s-era, John J. Harvey Fireboat has had a lengthy history, including pumping water to firefighters at the World Trade Center after the September 11 attacks. The Public Art Fund exhibition, Tauba Auerbach: Flow Separation will create a new look in World War I-era camouflage, just in time for the 100th Anniversary year of the end of World War 1.
The Elizabeth H. Berger Plaza opened to the public this month. The project creates a new park by combining two existing plazas, rerouting traffic exiting from the Hugh L. Carey Tunnel, and removing excess roadbed along Greenwich Street.
The project was originally designed to include the first public monument to early Arab immigrants in New York, commemorating the influential writers and poets associated with Little Syria. We were surprised, and disappointed to see, that it did not.
Rendering, The Perelman Center for Performing Arts via the perelman.org
Perelman Performing Arts Center (PAC) Executive Director Khady Kamara and Artistic Director Bill Rauch announced the September 2023 opening of its new venue at the World Trade Center site in Lower Manhattan.
Save the Date ~ February 16-18 for the ultimate Lego Event! Lego Live NYC will feature build zones with all your LEGO favorites like Architecture, City, Friends, NINJAGO, Star Wars, Technic + many many more taking place in 65,000 square feet at Pier 36.
The historic journey of the House of Louis Vuitton has arrived in New York in the form of the exhibit, Volez, Voguez, Voyagez. Curated by Oliver Saillard, with set designs by Robert Carsen, it is divided into ten chapters – one of which is entirely devoted to the United States and New York City.
The Series ‘Our Little People’ ~ Artist, Tomo Mori
Save the Date for November 9th when one of our favorite artists, Tomo Mori will present her solo exhibit, Search for Warmth:Works by Tomo Mori at The Yard, City Hall Park.
