Tag: public

Lawrence Weiner in front of the Whitney Museum

The Whitney’s social distancing markers are more artful than most…or so it appears in front of the museum where conceptual artist Lawrence Weiner’s manhole cover aligns with the line to get in the museum.  Commissioned in 2000 by the Public Art Fund, the cover is one of many that were installed around Union Square, Washington Square Park and other downtown locations through early 2011.  Reading ‘In direct line with another and the next,’ the text relates to the city grid and its residents moving though urban spaces together, a theme never more relevant than now.

Elle Street Art at Hudson Yards

Renowned and prolific international street artist Elle has transformed the 11th Ave approach to Hudson Yards with this 2,000 sq ft mural.  Hoping “to instill passion and hope and peace in the people who see it,” Elle pictures a mother and daughter looking forward into a brighter future.  (On view on 11th Ave in Hudson Yards through 2020).

Jeffrey Gibson at Socrates Sculpture Park

Jeffrey Gibson’s enormous structure at Socrates Sculpture Park initiates the park’s new ‘Monuments Now’ project, a series of sculptures focusing on the current hot-button topic of public monuments and their representation of US history.  Inspired by the pre-Columbian Mississippian earthen structures of Cahokia and wheat-pasted with eye-popping posters in bright colors that celebrate a queer sensibility, Gibson’s ziggurat dominates the park with joyous pulsing patterns.  Texts on each side read, ‘Powerful because we are different’ and ‘Respect indigenous land,’ strong messages to read against the backdrop of Mannahatta, as Manhattan was known prior to the arrival of Europeans. (On view in Queens through March 2021).

Jeffrey Gibson, ‘Because Once You Enter My House It Becomes Our House,’ Plywood, posters, steel, LEDs, and performances, 44 × 44 × 21 ft, 2020.

Carmen Herrera in City Hall Park

Carmen Herrera’s longevity as an artist continues to amaze; the informational texts for her installation of boldly colored abstract sculptures at City Hall Park declare her age (104) in the first line before going on to comment on the artwork.  In the 50s and beyond, Herrera was in the center of New York’s art world and at its margins, making artwork in conversation with the developing language of abstraction but underappreciated because of her gender and lacking funding to realize her plans for boldly colored sculpture.  Installed in the park, her architectural forms are in the company of landmarks including City Hall and the Woolworth Building.  Here, they speak to Herrera’s personal and political concerns, from a piece memorializing her late brother to a sculpture constructed of two interlocking forms that nod to Cuban/American relations.  (On view downtown at City Hall Park via the Public Art Fund through Nov 8th).

Carmen Herrera, Amarillo Tres, 1971/2018.

Matthew Pillsbury at Benrubi Gallery

Using his signature long exposure technique, Matthew Pillsbury turns his lens for his latest show, ‘Sanctuary’ at Benrubi Gallery, on basic rights – assembly and expression – that are often taken for granted. Here, a participant pauses in front of Matthew Chavez’s ‘Subway Therapy’ project, which provided pens and post-its for New Yorkers to express their thoughts after the 2016 presidential election. (On view in Chelsea through Nov 22nd).

Matthew Pillsbury, Subway Therapy 2, Union Square, New York City, Dec 3, 2016, 50 x 60 inches, 2016.