Art in the Parks

Description:

Petros Chrisostomou’s sculpture Sky Feather, Located at the Riverside Park Bird Sanctuary at 116th Street, aims to bring awareness to this vibrant, natural bird community.ÃΑÂ Sky Feather, formerly exhibited at 124th Street and Lennox Avenue, will act as a meeting point in the park and a point of discussion amongst park visitors and birders. Though feathers appear fragile and weightless, sculpture was fabricated with stained and sealed birch plywood and stands at 12 feet tall.ÃΑÂ He notes that a feather is the symbolic remains of a journey or flight. Bird migration gracefully parallels the journey taken by people around the world. The diversity of New York City makes it an interesting and fertile arena for this homage to cultural diversity and migration. He also hopes that the sculpture will draw people from other neighborhoods to the park, adding an additional layer of movement.

The Riverside Park Bird Sanctuary runs from 116th Street to 124th Street. Since 1997, the approximately 10 acres of the Sanctuary have been undergoing reforestation, and over 3,000 plants have been added. In the last thirty years 177 species of birds have been seen in or around the Sanctuary, with a yearly average of about 120 species. Visitors can expect to see the blue grosbeak, summer tanager, hooded warbler, mourning warbler and nine species of sparrows, among others. For more information on the Bird Sanctuary and optimal birding times visit NYC Audubon’s website.

Summer on the Hudson, the NYC Parks’ annual outdoor arts and culture festival in Riverside Park, will organize an artist talk with Chrisostomou and a bird walk in conjunction with this exhibition. Program dates will be listed on the Summer on the Hudson website.

This exhibition was kindly supported by the Riverside Park Conservancy and the International Studio & Curatorial Program (ISCP).

Description:

Michael Whiting creates playful sculptures drawing from the forms and imagery of early video gaming and computer graphics. Whiting attempts to communicate as much visual information as possible with his essential forms that combine the reductive simplicity of the minimalist movement and the sensibility of pop art in re-contextualizing cultural icons.

The exhibition is presented by Causey Contemporary.

Description:

In special recognition of Beverly Pepper’s 93rd birthday, the monumental sculpture My Circle, 2008 is on view in Union Square. The sculpture continues the artist’s contemplation of time, materiality and place, and is part of Curvae, her series of curved forms. By using Cor–Ten steel, a corrosion–resistant material that naturally and quickly develops a weathered–looking patina, Pepper is able to speed up the oxidation process, and in so doing suggest the concept of elapsed time through the sculpture’s skin of rust.

Like many of her monumental works, My Circle engages the viewer through the interplay of convex and concave forms. The use of opposing forces – vertical and horizontal, interior and exterior – creates a lyrical meditation of space that is at once dominant and intimate. The artist has stated that “Seeing, touching, and the physical sensory engagement is the way into my sculpture; my intention is that the meaning of my work rests in experiencing it, similar to the performing arts where listening and seeing the moments of a performance where meaning is revealed through experience.” She notes that My Circle, standing at fourteen feet tall in Cor–Ten steel, for her recalls an image from years ago relating to the symbolic character in Zen Buddhism where it is known as the Enso, a drawing in ink of an open or closed circle. The closed circle represents the totality of experience and life. The open circle represents the imperfection found in all things, and is known as the circle of enlightenment, its symbolism referring to the beginning and end of all things, the circle of life, and the connectedness of existence. What Pepper is drawn to within this narrative is the notion of the “connectedness of existence” and how we can connect people and populations through art.

This exhibition is presented by Marlborough Gallery and the Union Square Partnership.

Description:

FLUX Public Art Projects, a FLUX Art Fair initiative, features over 40 public art installations for its second annual show. The fair will take place in several locations throughout Harlem’s parks and boulevards, concentrated in and around Marcus Garvey Park. The only contemporary art fair mounted in the neighborhood, FLUX embodies Harlem’s creative spirit and cultural significance by bringing together original works, from large sculptural works and sound pieces to performance art and thought-provoking installations in rocks, fences, and light-poles, by over 40 innovative artists.

This exhibition is presented by Art in FLUX, FLUX Art Fair, and Marcus Garvey Park Alliance.

Description:

Birdhouse, Fish Spine, Hummingbird and Palenque are Rodriguez’s early works that are on view for the first time. He created these works shortly after Growth with scrap metal from the metal shop where his permanent work was fabricated. They equally represent Rodríguez’s interest in nature and the cultural exchange derived from travel to different countries. They are fabricated in painted welded steel, one of his favored techniques, and stand between seven and nine feet tall.

Birdhouse was inspired by Pablo Neruda’s poem “Las aves maltratadas,” (“The Brutalized Birds”) references the conduct of birds that assemble en masse in public places. Fish Spine references Rodríguez’s recollection of fishing adventures in the Caribbean Sea with his brother. The symbiotic relationship between fauna and flora is captured in Hummingbird. Palenque is inspired by Mayan architectural devices used to record the passing of celestial events.

In addition to the installation at East Harlem Art Park, Rodriguez’s sculpture The Oracle of the Past, Present and Future is on view at Tompkins Square. The Oracle of the Past, Present and Future in the East Village and Birdhouse, Fish Spine, Hummingbird and Palenque in Harlem celebrate the 30th Anniversary of Growth, Rodríguez’s large-scale, permanent work that was New York City’s first completed Percent for Art commission.

Description:

The Art Students League of New York, one of America’s premier art schools, presents the Model to Monument Program (M2M), a collaboration with the New York City Department of Parks & Recreation that has culminated in the installation of seven sculptures on view along Riverside Park South from 59th to 69th Streets.

The sculptures were created by an international team of selected League students during a nine-month program. The pieces for this exhibition explore Patterns in Nature. The artists are: The sculptors participating in the fifth year of the M2M program are Lee Apt (Jubilation!), Caroline Bergonzi (Metamorphosis), Kate Jansyn (Fragment of an Angel), Sukyung Kim (Flow 1 – Cascade), Donat King (Man and Fish), Paola Morales (Thrive), and Ken Shih (Can love pervade spaceΑ). The collaborative sculpture in Van Cortlandt Park, Bronx for 2015 is entitled Gift of Life.

This work was made possible by the Art Students League’s Model to Monument Program and the Riverside Park Conservancy.

Description:

The Oracle of the Past, Present and Future is a 12-foot-tall structure that consists of geometric interlocking parts with elements of steel, wood, glass, and a magnificent dome that adds to its mystical symbolism. The work is inspired by the study of celestial bodies: the influence of the sun, moon, planets and zodiac constellations on human affairs and the natural world. Rodriguez invites the public to consider the mysteries of astrology and engage in contemplation and inner reflection while walking through the sculpture. The sculpture is located on the lawn just inside Tompkins Square Park at St. Mark’s Place and Avenue A.

In addition to the installation at Tompkins Square, four sculptures will accompany his permanent sculpture Growth at the East Harlem Art Park at 120th Street and Sylvan Place. "I have tried to capture the interaction between trees, birds, insects, flowers, and man. My sculpture may portray a seed sprouting from the ground, an insect transforming into a flower, or a bird changing into a tree. I hope to create an art piece that will serve as a source of enjoyment and inspiration to the community,” stated Rodríguez about Growth in 1985. These additional artworks echo his original concept as they emerge from different areas of the park.

The Oracle of the Past, Present and Future in the East Village and Birdhouse, Fish Spine, Hummingbird and Palenque in Harlem celebrate the 30th Anniversary of Growth, Rodríguez’s large-scale, permanent work that was New York City’s first completed Percent for Art commission.

Description:

Babel, Butterfly, Dialogue, and Communication, four sculptures by Brazilian artist Mazeredo are on view in Dag Hammarskjold Plaza. She translates the sounds she hears in Brazil into vibrant colors and shapes that make up her sculptures. One of her most ubiquitous shapes is the abstracted mouth form. For example, Babel depicts mouths arguing as they ascend the tower to discuss the harmony of human dialogue to solve differences.

This exhibition is presented by the Friends of Dag Hammarskjold.