Matt Johnson in ‘Wanderlust’ on the High Line

Matt Johnson’s ‘Untitled (Swan)’ marries industrial materials to the natural world by shaping a train track into the shape of an abstract swan set in the High Line’s lush gardens. Known for morphing everyday items – a crumpled Starbucks cup carved from wood and painted, a stack of plastic party cups actually rendered in painted bronze – into objects of wonder, this twisted rail pays homage to the former rail line on which it’s installed. (In ‘Wanderlust’ on the High Line through March 2017).

Matt Johnson, Untitled (Swan), bent train track, 120 x 138 x 34 ¾ inches, 2016.
Matt Johnson, Untitled (Swan), bent train track, 120 x 138 x 34 ¾ inches, 2016.