Image via Anthony Quintano’s Flickr
In 2018, 6sqft reported that artist Kristen Visbal’s “Fearless Girl” statue was on the move to her current spot across from the New York Stock Exchange. Now, the diminutive statue is in the news once again, as her time there may be drawing to a close. The statue’s permit with the Landmarks Preservation Commission expired on November 29, and with a city hearing scheduled for December (or even later), the fate of “Fearless Girl” is not a sure thing.
Photos by Martin Seck for the Flatiron/23rd Street Partnership
A new public art installation opened in the Flatiron Public Plaza as part of the neighborhood’s yearly “23 Days of Flatiron Cheer” event. This year’s artwork, called Interwoven, comes from design firm Atelier Cho Thompson and features colorful interactive archways. When two or more people pass through sensors of the same color, corresponding lights and musical compositions by local artists are activated. Interwoven, selected by the Flatiron/23rd Street Partnership and Van Alen Institute as the winner of the eighth annual Flatiron Public Plaza Holiday Design Competition, also has a story wall that invites New Yorkers to share responses to the prompt: “I dream of a world where together we can…”
All photos: NYC Parks / Malcolm Pinckney
A 16-foot-tall steel and fiberglass sculpture of a superhero has been installed at The Battery in Lower Manhattan. Designed by artist Hebru Brantley, the artwork, called The Great Debate, is part of a series featuring the character Flyboy, an aviator goggle-wearing, crime-fighter. The sculpture will be on display through November 13, 2022.
Photo by Mac Smith.
The non-profit organization Irish Arts Center (IAC) will open the doors of a 21,700-square-foot space at 726 11th Avenue in early December. The long-awaited arts hub will occupy a century-old tire shop and garage after a decade-long transformation of the $60 million building led by New York-based architects Davis Brody Bond, the firm behind the National September 11 Museum and The Ronald O. Perelman Performing Arts Center, along with Ireland’s Office of Public Works. Inaugural programming for the new center will include theatrical performance, dance, music, visual arts, literature, and education, beginning with Camille O’Sullivan’s “Where Are We Now?”
All photos courtesy of Tishman Speyer
Rockefeller Center last week kicked off a nearly two-week celebration of Mexican culture and Día de Los Muertos, or Day of the Dead, with the installation of larger-than-life Mexican folk-art sculptures and other artworks around the plaza. As part of the campus-wide commemoration, see an 11-foot dragon and a 13.5-foot feathered jaguar, an exhibition of fashionably dressed skeleton figures, a Día de Los Muertos display altar, and a floral installation adorning the center’s iconic bronze statue Atlas.
Photo Credit: SJ Martinez Photography
A massive sculptural portrait was unveiled on the Jersey City waterfront this week, along with a new public plaza. Created by Barcelona-based artist Jaume Plensa, Water’s Soul is a monumental 80-foot-tall sculpture depicting a young person in contemplation. The new permanent artwork sits on the Hudson River in Newport, the master-planned, mixed-use community developed by the LeFrak Organization and Simon Property Group.
Photos courtesy of SUMMIT One Vanderbilt
Midtown’s tallest office tower opened its observation deck this week, adding to the city’s ever-growing list of sky-high, for-sale spectacles. Designed by Snøhetta, One Vanderbilt’s Summit stretches across floors 91 through 93 at the 1,401-foot-tall tower and offers incredible views across a 65,000-square-foot multi-level entertainment venue about 1,000 feet in the air. Tickets start at $39 for general admission and climb to $83 for evening admission that comes with a cocktail.
All photos: Alexandre Ayer / @DiversityPics for the Garment District Alliance.
The Port Authority bus terminal in Midtown may not be one of New York City’s most beautiful places, but the world’s busiest terminal recently got a beauty boost in the form of a 40-foot-high, 600-foot-wide gallery wall that features the diverse and fabulous faces of over 1,200 New Yorkers. The Garment District Alliance (GDA) and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey (PANYNJ) have collaborated to bring the giant photo gallery, “Inside Out: NY Together,” part of an international initiative by world-renowned artist JR, to the Manhattan bus gateway.
Photo: John Moore, Circular Space Photography
As the New York City AIDS Memorial celebrates the 10th anniversary of its founding, Christie’s has announced “UNQUESTIONING LOVE: An Auction to Benefit the New York City AIDS Memorial.” The November auction will present a select group of 19 artworks by leading contemporary artists that will be sold across two live sales. The Post-War and Contemporary Art Day Sale on November 12 will feature a selection of 16 artworks by contemporary art stars, with works by Elmgreen & Dragset, Sam Gilliam, the Haas Brothers, Jim Hodges, Shara Hughes, KAWS, Rashid Johnson, Trevor Paglen, Adam Pendleton, Ugo Rondinone, Sarah Sze, Salman Toor, Jonas Wood, and Lisa Yuskavage, many made for the event.
Photos: ©Fred Charles courtesy of Gensler
A massive blue spherical stone now hangs in the lobby of the landmarked office building 550 Madison Avenue, part of a broader project to revitalize Philip Johnson’s postmodern gem. The Olayan Group on Wednesday unveiled the renovated space, a project which included preserving the 110-foot arched entry, adding a multi-story window across from the entrance with views through to the new garden, still under construction, and the centerpiece art commission. Designed by artist Alicja Kwade, who had a solo exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s roof garden in 2019, the art installation includes a 24-ton Azul Macaubas stone sphere hanging from ten polished stainless steel chains only 12 feet above the floor.
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