Central Park

Parks Celebrates 40 Years Of Art In Public Parks With A Gallery Exhibit

Parks & Recreation’s Arsenal Gallery is pleased to announce the opening of The Outdoor Gallery: 40 Years of Public Art in New York City Parks, which is being celebrated with First Deputy Mayor Patricia E. Harris, Commissioner Adrian Benepe, Director of Art & Antiquities and Curator Jonathan Kuhn along with artists and partner organizations. This indoor component of Parks & Recreation’s 40th anniversary celebration of temporary public art is a retrospective overview of art in parks from 1967 to present day. The exhibition will be on display from September 25 through November 23, 2007.

"Tonight we celebrate four decades of collaboration among museums, nonprofits, foundations and city agencies—arts administrators, government officials, corporate sponsors and individual patrons. But, most of all, we thank the artists who dream big, work hard and make our City the cultural capital of the world," said First Deputy Mayor Patricia E. Harris.

"We’re going indoors to the Arsenal Gallery to celebrate 40 years of art that has taken place entirely outdoors," said Parks & Recreation Commissioner Adrian Benepe. "The Outdoor Gallery: 40 Years of Public Art in New York City Parks is a gold mine of history and art that includes treasures such as original drawings, letters, archival photos, and artist commentary. We are proud that we have provided a home for so many works over the past 40 years and brought a bit of culture to the everyday lives of New Yorkers."

"This show celebrates the vision and creativity that so many great artists have brought into the lives of New Yorkers, thanks to the commitment of our colleagues at the Parks Department," said Cultural Affairs Commissioner Kate D. Levin. "In fact, public art can now be seen throughout the City—building on the inspired example of Doris Freedman—from the wonderful temporary works in our parks and other public spaces, to the hundreds of permanent artworks commissioned by the City’s Percent for Art program."

In October 1967, the City of New York transformed the cityscape into an outdoor gallery with the first major group exhibition of temporary public art. Entitled Sculpture in the Environment, it was organized by Doris Freedman, special assistant for Cultural Affairs, and curated by sculpture consultant Sam Green. The show, encompassing the works of 24 artists including Claes Oldenberg, Barnett Newman and Louise Nevelson, was staged at nine city park locations and 15 public or corporate plazas. The exhibition brought art to the everyday lives of New Yorkers. Since 1967, Parks & Recreation’s temporary public art program has consistently fostered the creation and installation of temporary public art in parks and has hosted more than 1,000 temporary art displays throughout the five boroughs. Since 2002, when Kate Levin became the commissioner of the Department of Cultural Affairs, the number of art installations has markedly increased thanks to the department’s added support of cultural groups and organizations.

Some of the major exhibitions have included: Machines and Nanas by Niki de Saint-Phalle and Jean Tinguely (1968); Night Presence IV by Louise Nevelson (1972); For Lady Day by Mark di Suvero (1975); Art Across the Park group show (1980); Two Piece Reclining Figure by Henry Moore (1984); Tomorrow’s Wind by Melvin Edwards (1991); Bird by Fernando Botero (1993); Otterness on Broadway by Tom Otterness (2004); and Christo and Jeanne-Claude’s The Gates (2005).

The Arsenal Gallery show is a retrospective overview that includes 48 archival photographs, original drawings and models, and memorabilia of public art in parks since 1967. The historical collection includes items such as archival photographs of Francis Hines’ Washington Square Arch Wrapped, Brett Cook-Dizney’s Information for Peace and Democracy murals and Nancy Hwang’s S-Project: Urban Oasis; an original preparatory drawing for the Sculpture in the Environment poster and other original drawings by Christo, Tom Otterness, and Mel Chin; a sculpture by Keith Haring; models of Roxy Paine’s stainless steel Conjoined and Alejandro Diaz’s A Can For All Seasons; a lithograph by Mark di Suvero; a lightbox by Karin Giusti; a collage by Niki de Saint Phalle and Jean Tinguely; and preparatory studies by Vito Acconci, Lina Puerta, and Nancy Cohen. The exhibition also includes display cases with newsletters, announcement cards, archival catalogues and posters, proposals, publications and more.

An accompanying booklet by Parks’ Director of Art and Antiquities Jonathan Kuhn, who also curated the exhibit, provides a comprehensive history of public art in New York City parks from the inception of Parks temporary public art program in 1967 to present day. Through text, photographs and a timeline, various events and works are placed in the context of the evolution of public art.

In October, Parks will launch the outdoor component of the anniversary celebration, which will consist of 40 art installations throughout the five boroughs. Art in the Parks: Celebrating 40 Years welcomes installations by George Rickey and Tony Smith, who had exhibits in 1967, as well as others such as Tom Otterness, George Sánchez-Calderón, Arthur Sims, Anne Peabody and Minsuk Cho.

The Arsenal Gallery is located on the third floor of the Parks Department Headquarters, in Central Park, on Fifth Avenue at 64th Street. Gallery hours are Monday – Friday, 9 a.m. – 5 p.m. except for municipal holidays. Admission is free.

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Images and detailed descriptions available upon request.

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