Art in the Parks

Through collaborations with a diverse group of arts organizations and artists, Parks brings to the public both experimental and traditional art in many park locations. Please browse our list of current exhibits and our archives of past exhibits below. You can also see past grant opportunities or read more about the Art in the Parks Program.

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Courtesy of the Angel Orensanz Foundation

Angel Orensanz, The Garden Before the Snake

September 1, 2007 to March 31, 2008
Dag Hammarskjold Plaza, Manhattan

Please note: This is a past exhibit that is no longer installed in the park.

Description:

The steel-pipe sculpture group by the artist Angel Orensanz, The Garden Before the Snake, is an expression of the artist’s concept of a "garden." Orensanz has described The Garden "as a utopian horizon for humankind’s endless growth and harmony" with the foil of "the serpent" or the "snake" acting as a representation of the "fragility" and "fragile future" of humankind.

Spanish-born Orensanz is likely best known for his purchase and refurbishment of a circa 1849 unused synagogue on Norfolk Street in New York City’s Lower East Side. Orensanz first used this as his studio, and then in 1992, along with his brother and several other artists, established the Angel Orensanz Foundation. The Foundation now occupies the building.