The Broadway Mall Association has announced its art installation for Spring/Winter 2018, with Kathy Ruttenberg on Broadway: in dreams awake. Artist, Kathy Ruttenberg has created six site-specific sculptures that run along the Broadway Mall from 64th Street to 157th Street.
6. Fish Bowl, 2018 at 157th Street
Fish Bowl, 2018 is located on Broadway at 157th Street, and was attracting quite a crowd today. The installation is constructed of cast silicon bronze, polychrome patina, ceramics, acrylic, cast polyurethane resin, cast concrete, and includes LED lighting.
5. Snail’s Pace at 96th Street
Snail’s Pace, 2018 is located on Broadway at 96th Street, near the entrance to the West Side Arts Coalition building. The installation is made of cast silicon bronze, polychrome patina, cast acrylic, ceramic, cast polyurethane resin, and has LED lighting. Snail’s Pace is four feet tall, by 9.5 feet long, and a width of 6 feet.
Incredible detail on all six of the installations.
4. In Sync at 72nd Street
In Sync, 2018 is located at the entrance to the subway station at 72nd Street. The sculpture is made of cast silicon bronze, polychrome patina and cast concrete, and stands 8 feet tall, and a little over 4 feet wide.
The artist explains her merging of flora and fauna as “an urban escape into a rural wonderland; the pace of the city contrasts with the rhythms of nature raising questions of what effect this disparity has on the human psyche; man’s relationship to nature is an underlying concern throughout my work.”
She goes on to say, “As the inhabitants of the natural world are increasingly displaced by urban and suburban sprawl,, I find myself using anthropomorphic fables to return nature’s creatures to our human consciousness.”
“It was Henry David Thoreau who said, ‘Our truest life is when we are in dreams awake,’ and Ruttenberg’s sculptural prowess delightfully breaks the boundaries between art, the urban environment, nature, dream, and reality.”
The ribbon-cutting ceremony will be held at this location on Friday, April 27th at 11am.
3. Ms. Mighty Mouse at 79th Street
Ms. Mighty Mouse, 2018 is located at 79th Street, with Zabar’s (say cheese!) in the background. She is made of cast silicon bronze and polychrome patina and stands 10 feet tall.
2. Topsy Turvy at 117th Street
Topsy Turvy, 2018 is located at the Columbia Gates on Broadway at 117th Street. It is created from cast silicon bronze, polychrome patina, cast polyurethane resin, case concrete, and LED lighting in the globe above. The installation stands more than eleven feet tall and is about four feet wide.
The sculpture, which is across from Barnard College, is proposed to be an alternative to Atlas carrying the globe on his shoulders ~ an acrobatic goddess stands on her head and balances the earth on her feet, presenting a new view of the world to its future leaders.
1. All the World’s a Stage at 64th Street
The first of the six installed is at 64th Street. This site-specific sculpture is entitled, “All the World’s a Stage, 2018” and is made of cast silicon bronze, polychrome patina, cast polyurethane resin, glass mosaic, case concrete, and topped with LED lighting.
All the World’s a Stage stands a little over 15.5 feet, with a width of just over 4 feet. It’s name is quite fitting since it sits in Dante Park in front of Lincoln Center, and below are a few more images.
The six site-specific sculptures will include “All the World’s a Stage, 2018” in Dante Park at 64th Street; “In Sync, 2018” at 72nd Street; Ms. Mighty Mouse, 2018” at 79th Street; “Snail’s Pace, 2018” at 96th Street; “Topsy Turvy, 2018” at Columbia Gates, 117th Street; and “Fish Bowl, 2018” at 157th Street.
Ruttenberg’s fantastical narrative sculptures combine human, animal, and plant forms. Using a wide range of medium, Ruttenberg hopes to create an urban escape for those passing by. All of the sculptures were created with its location in mind, as we noted with “All the World’s a Stage.”
Taken out of the gallery and onto the streets, her characters embrace even greater significance as they interact with the urban environment.
Kathy Ruttenberg on Broadway: in dreams awake is presented by Broadway Mall Association (BMA) and organized in cooperation with NYC Parks. The six sculptures will be unveiled on April 27th, with a ribbon-cutting ceremony at 11am on Broadway between 71st and 72nd Streets, at the south entrance of the West 72nd Street subway station. The installations will be on view to March, 2019.
Taking it indoors, Kathy Ruttenberg: Private Myths/Public Dreams is on view at Francis M. Naumann Fine Art to March 8, 2019, located at 24 West 57th Street, Suite 305, NYC.
Taking it home, Ruttenberg’s latest book, In Dreams Awake: Kathy Ruttenberg on Broadway with introductory essay by Deborah A. Goldberg.
Explore more work on Kathy Ruttenberg on the beautiful website El Hurgador (Arte en la Red)
A final note, Francis M. Naumann is pleased to announce its representation of Kathy Ruttenberg.