Art in the Parks

The works on view on the High Line were produced by the artist for this exhibition. Since 2020 Jackson has constructed several monumental, slotted steel sculptures, largely based on smaller works of his from the late 1990s. The artist honors his utilitarian material, and yet the painted, cut, and pockmarked surfaces animate the sculptures beyond their material properties. On view at the Western Rail Yards, Oliver Lee Jackson’s energetic work complements the section’s simple gravel pathway and original self-seeded, wild landscape.

This exhibition is presented by Friends of the High Line.

Aleia marks the second phase of interactive public artworks for the Culture, Creativity, and Care initiative by Harlem Grown. These public artworks play an important role in the community, doubling as spaces for respite, gathering, and connection. Aleia, a name that has multicultural origins meaning “ascendant”, and “exalted,” was chosen for the piece, which sits high atop the Mt. Morris Acropolis at the center of Marcus Garvey Park.

The main structure is shaped and sits atop a 32-foot semi-circular stage. Inspired by Sankofa’s modular system, the design conceptually breaks apart and reaches out, allowing for several pieces of Aleia to form a meandering Storywalk of steel totems that lead park goers up the stairs to the new installation. The centerpiece of the bright and youthful design are five paintings by the Harlem-based artist, Thomas Heath.

This exhibition is sponsored by Harlem Grown’s Culture Creativity & Care Initiative.

​This exhibition of nine monumental sculptures features new bronze and marble pieces from French sculptor Bruno Catalano‘s "Travellers" series. The works pay particular attention to the relationship between sculpture and the textiles, folds, and colors that are key features of Catalano’s work. Models of bags, luggage and suitcases, as well as garments, and even the artist's clay-covered aprons allow the public a view behind the scenes of creation.

This exhibition is presented by Galeries Bartoux, Patrons of Park Avenue, and the Murray Hill Neighborhood Association.

A series of five sculptures placed throughout Stuyvesent Square, Blooming Reflections celebrates indigenous plants and highlights the efforts of community members to bring these types of flora back to the park. The sculptures are silhouetted depictions of several species of flowers: Iris Versicolor, Purple Clematis, Smooth White Beardtongue, Swamp Rose Mallow, and Yellow Trout Lily. Artist Lee Tal created the works in polished aluminum that reflects the natural surroundings and the viewing audience, reminding us of our interconnectedness. The sculptures are designed to engage the community with beauty but also provide new information on the value of indigenous plantings.

This exhibition is presented by the Stuyvesant Park Neighborhood Association.

For the High Line, Hsu presents car-grass-screen-2 and car-body-screen-2, two biomorphic forms constructed out of resin-wrapped foam. The cars’ shapes, with their soft edges and curved surfaces, appear entirely organic but for their glitching, screen-like skins. In the skin of car-grass-screen-2, Hsu includes a scannable QR code, which directly connects the sculptural form to both the virtual and physical realm—via the interface of the phone and the viewer’s hand holding the phone. Scanning the code prompts a video that echoes the grass and perforated metal screen featured on the sculpture’s surface, layered with peephole-style footage of grass, soil, and human skin and orifices. The ability to change the content connected to the QR code from virtual space reinforces Hsu’s interest in hybridity, in which the work is both fixed and open-ended, physical and cyber.

This exhibition is presented by the High Line.

The sculptural installation is composed of animal, human, and plant forms cast from aluminum, sprouting from a steel grid armature. This amalgamation of organic and industrial materials reflects the history of the Meatpacking District’s meat trade and the High Line’s role in that industry. Cenci also reflects on the blurred line between humans and all other forms of life. The work’s title, a term used in botany to describe a forest or woodland area that has regenerated through largely natural processes after human-caused disturbances, allows viewers to reconsider their own impact on and relationship to the cycle of life.

This exhibition is presented by the High Line.