Last week, the New York Times published a feature on new public artworks that are popping up across New York City. Public art benefits everyone who comes into contact with it; it benefits the artists by providing an opportunity to showcase their work, it benefits the public by harboring a sense of community and place-making, and it benefits the developers who commission public art by increasing foot traffic in the surrounding area. We are personally in love with the sculpture below, which was installed at a children’s hospital in Manhattan. A giant, 24 foot tall dalmatian uses laser-like focus to balance a real, true-to-size (!!!) taxi cab on its nose. The artist has said that “besides wanting this work to be playful, he intended it “to have assets we hope to find in our doctors: focus, confidence, patience and sweetness.”
We love the nuanced approach to the commission above. Public art is incredibly powerful in that viewers often discover new elements in the artwork each time they encounter it. At first place, passerby might think the sculpture is just cute, whimsical and playful. But upon further reflection, the piece invites them to consider the focus, intention, and confidence displayed by the dog.
Below are some of Artists Circle’s current public art projects - check out the captions for the story behind each one!
Sculptural proposal for a soundwall at a development in Rockville, MD. The artist uses recycled aluminum panels to create dimensional wall sculptures that can be installed in interior or exterior spaces. This piece balances Rockville’s present with the past - the old barn harkens back to the town’s history as a farming community while the contemporary construction alludes to Rockville’s new center as a business and cultural hub of the DMV.
‘Discovery’ creatures in progress for the Chevy Chase Land Company. Inspired by origami, these sculptural animals are made of recycled, museum-quality metals and will be installed throughout the shopping center. Some large, some small, the sculptures are intended to be discovered by shoppers for a bit of whimsy to be enjoyed by young and old alike.
Glass tower on proposal in Old Town, Alexandria. The artist was inspired by a lime kiln found in archaeological surveys of the site. The bright, colored glass will provide a contemporary take on a historical object.