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AccessibilityArt 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.
Public Art Map and Guide
Find out which current exhibits are on display near you, and browse our permanent monument collection.
Search Current and Past Exhibits
2003
Manhattan
Fritz Koenig, The Sphere
March 11, 2002 to Present
The Battery, Manhattan
Please note: This is a past exhibit that is no longer installed in the park.
Fritz Koenig's The Sphere, a 45,000 pound sculpture made of steel and bronze, adorned the fountain at the World Trade Center's Tobin Plaza from 1971 to September 11, 2001. Bent and damaged, but still recognizable, the sculpture has been relocated to Battery Park, where it stands as a powerful temporary memorial commemorating the lives of those lost in the World Trade Center attack and in the 1993 World Trade Center bombing. On September 11, 2002, a dedication was held to officially recognize the artwork as an interim memorial and to light an eternal flame in memory of those lost.
The Sphere is on long-term loan from the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.
Media Advisory
Roy Lichtenstein, Roy Lichtenstein at City Hall
November 18, 2003 to October 2004
City Hall Park, Manhattan
Please note: This is a past exhibit that is no longer installed in the park.
"Roy Lichtenstein at City Hall" includes four sculptures: Element #E in Tweed Courthouse, Woman: Sunlight, Moonlight in the lobby of City Hall, and Brushstroke Group and Endless Drip in City Hall Park. Roy Lichtenstein (1923-1997) was an important New York artist and a central figure in the emergence of Pop Art in the 1960's. Although best known for his paintings, Lichtenstein was also a prolific sculptor, and in the 1980's he began making monumental brushstroke sculptures. Brushstroke Group, Endless Drip and his other sculptures from this period capture the movement and color of painting on a grand scale. "'Roy Lichtenstein at City Hall' is a part of our ongoing effort to bring contemporary art to the City's parks, public spaces and treasured landmarks," said Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg. "I hope this exhibition will attract New Yorkers and visitors from around the world to Lower Manhattan." The exhibition was a result of a collaboration between Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg and Public Art Fund.
Visit the Public Art Fund website for more information.
Darrell Petit, Gondwana, for Richard Bellamy
July 29, 2003 to August 31, 2004
91st Street
Riverside Park, Manhattan
Please note: This is a past exhibit that is no longer installed in the park.
In Gondwana, for Richard Bellamy, Darrell Petit has gently manipulated Stony Creek Granite and American Oak into a sculpture that complements the natural landscape of Riverside Park. As the artist-in-residence at the Stony Creek Granite Quarry in Connecticut, Petit embraces the geological processes that created the granite and pushes those processes one step further using heat and splitting dowels. The title Gondwana refers to an ancient geologic time when the landmass that is now Connecticut was attached to the African continent, highlighting the permanence and geologic origins of the stone. Gondwana is a tribute in stone to Richard Bellamy, the art dealer who was instrumental in introducing Petit and now-famous artists such as Mark di Suvero, Donald Judd, and James Rosenquist, early in their artistic careers.
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Zigi Ben-Haim, Splendid Step
November 19, 2003 to August 25, 2004
Second Avenue at East 47th Street
Dag Hammarskjold Plaza, Manhattan
Please note: This is a past exhibit that is no longer installed in the park.
"My Splendid Step represents the small steps that eventually make a difference," said Zigi Ben-Haim about his sculpture currently on view at Dag Hammarskjold Plaza. According to the artist, the sculpture is a reflection of his own multi-cultural experience, and the variety of materials used are like layers of different cultures, each adapting to the other to survive. The artist was particularly drawn to Dag Hammarskjold Plaza on the corner of Second Avenue and East 47th Street for its proximity to the United Nations. The 13-foot sculpture is constructed of painted aluminum, steel mesh and cast stone. Zigi Ben-Haim was born in Baghdad in 1945, and studied art in Israel and the United States. Ben-Haim's work is represented by the Stefan Stux gallery in New York and has appeared in numerous solo and group exhibitions in the United States, Europe, and Israel.
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George Segal, Street Crossing
October 2003 to February 2004
Doris C. Freedman Plaza, Fifth Avenue & 60th Street
Central Park, Manhattan
Please note: This is a past exhibit that is no longer installed in the park.
Street Crossing, presented by Public Art Fund, was made by George Segal in 1992. The sculpture consists of seven figures in the act of moving through a fictional crossroads. The scattered figures seem blind to one another and to their surroundings. Segal had a particular ability to elevate mundane day-to-day activities into a lyrical or elegiac display, depicting his subjects with their guard down and in a naturalistic stance. In the early 1960s, he became known for making works in plaster, which he created by covering his subjects entirely in dry plaster bandages. He began working in bronze in the 1970's, and his works in this medium, including Street Crossing, retain the rough-hewn texture of his familiar plaster cast technique. In addition to this temporary presentation of Street Crossing, there are two sculptures by George Segal in New York's public spaces, both of which are on permanent view: Gay Liberation (1980) at Sheridan Square and The Commuters, Next Departure (1981) at Port Authority Terminal.
Visit Public Art Fund for more information.
Stanford Kay, Life Signs
September 8, 2003 to November 15, 2003
Union Square Park, Manhattan
Please note: This is a past exhibit that is no longer installed in the park.
The ten signs that make up Stanford Kay's Life Signs project resemble roadside warning signs. A closer look, however, reveals that the signs are of a completely different nature. Intended to subvert the authoritative messages delivered by traditional signage, Kay's Life Signs avoid the "look out!" tone of warning signs and invite the viewer to contemplate scenes of casual social intimacy. The images, consisting of black silhouetted figures against a light green background, depict scenes ranging from the touching to the mundane - a mother kneels to zip a child's jacket, backpack laden students stop for a chat, a couple exchanges a kiss. The artist hopes the signs will spur passersby to be more aware of the small moments of tenderness that play out all around us, yet are easily overlooked in the rush and stress of city life.
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Jean Dubuffet, Four Sculptures
September 20, 2003 to November 14, 2003
between 54th & 57th Streets
Park Avenue Malls, Manhattan
Please note: This is a past exhibit that is no longer installed in the park.
The current exhibitions of Jean Dubuffet sculptures on Park Avenue includes Redingoton at 54th Street, Tour aux scriptions at 55th Street, Tour aux membrures at 56th Street, and Calamuchon at 57th Street. The sculptures - conceived by the artist in 1973 and cast in 2002 in accordance with the Dubuffet Foundation and the artist's estate - are part of the artist's Hourloupe cycle, a series of works characterized by the use of red, white, and blue with sinuous black lines. A prolific artist in the post-war era, Jean Dubuffet (1901-1985) rejected traditional notions of beauty in favor of an aesthetic inspired by grafitti and the artwork of children and the mentally ill. A painter and a sculptor, Dubuffet referred to his style as "Art Brut," a term he coined in the late 1940s.
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Wim Delvoye, Gothic
June 2003 to October 2003
Madison Square Park & Central Park, Doris C. Freedman Plaza, Manhattan
Please note: This is a past exhibit that is no longer installed in the park.
Public Art Fund presents a series of sculptural works by Belgian artist Wim Delvoye in a two-part exhibition at Madison Square Park and Doris C. Freedman Plaza. In his life-size replicas of Caterpillar excavators, Delvoye juxtaposes the delicate ornamentation of medieval architecture with machine-age technology. The Gothic works grow out of an ongoing series in which Delvoye applies traditional craft and folk art practices to various industrial objects. Works by this Belgian artist have recently been exhibited at the New Museum of Contemporary Art in New York and the Centre Georges Pompidou in Paris.
For more information, visit the Public Art Fund website.
Various Artists, MetroSpective
January 29, 2003 to October 2003
City Hall Park, Manhattan
Please note: This is a past exhibit that is no longer installed in the park.
MetroSpective, a retrospective celebrating ten years of Public Art Fund projects at MetroTech Center, brings contemporary public art back to the beautifully restored City Hall Park for the first time since 1992. This exhibition, presented in Lower Manhattan's most central public park, revisits six works that were first exhibited as part of an innovative contemporary art program at MetroTech Center, the busy commercial and educational hub located just over the Brooklyn Bridge in downtown Brooklyn.
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Various Artists, Sacred Waterways
October 4, 2003 to October 16, 2003
Riverside Park, Riverside Park South, Manhattan
Please note: This is a past exhibit that is no longer installed in the park.
Sacred Waterways, an exhibition of three site-specific artworks, celebrates New York's waterways and explores the importance of water in spiritual myths, theology, and the rites of many religious traditions. From the Yoruba of Africa to the ancient Zoroastrians, water is evoked in sacred practice as a purifying force, a carrier of messages, and the creator. Nancy Bowen's "Water Experiences" are fountains made of glazed porcelain and steel. Lesley Dill's contribution, "Air Has No Residence;" consists of floating text from an Emily Dickinson poem translated into Hindi. Kelly Kaczynski created a map of Manhattan, which floats on the water's surface. The exhibition was organized by The Interfaith Center of New York.
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View all three artworks from Sacred Waterways
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