The latest art piece wraps the plaza in a rainbow of color

The latest round of public art is headed to several new Lower Manhattan construction sites this month. Under the Alliance for Downtown New York’s art program Re:Construction, the new installations use color, style, and multimedia materials to recast construction sites as public-art venues.

Among the next pieces to go up, “Rainbow Conversation,” wraps Louise Nevelson Plaza in 10-foot-tall panels with multi-colored fabric “flutters.” The Alliance, arts consultant BravinLee programs and artist Rachel Hayes installed the fence wrap on August 11th, decorating the plaza work site where city Department of Design and Construction crews are renovating for the Liberty Street Reconstruction project.

Nearby at 99 Washington Street, developer McSam Hotel Group has new wraps to beautify its work-zone fences. Along with 50 Trinity Place, both sites will be transformed as their plywood fences are fitted with unique, colorful walls of whimsical art -- with images like vintage cartoon characters and levitating cows. At Hudson River Park, artist Nina Bovasso’s “Botanizing on the Asphalt” will cover the concrete barriers surrounding the park’s Segment 3 makeover.  

Re:Construction is funded by a $1.5 million grant from the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation’s Community Enhancement Fund. Building on the success of the pilot program launched in 2007, the new installations are modular and use “green” materials, and have drawn interest from international artists.

Installations have already spruced up a several work zones downtown. Among them are “Fulton Fence” and “Houston Fence,” by Carolina Cisneros, Carlos Gomez de Llarena, and Mateo Pinto, who used catalogue construction materials to re-envision standard chain-link fences. Other installations transformed sidewalk sheds, timber curbs, and concrete Jersey barriers into innovative, functional artworks.

Re:Construction culled submissions from artists as far away as Stockholm and as nearby as Brooklyn. The Alliance brought in artists, gallerists, curators, and other professionals to consult on the project and help select the participants. It also is using the program to incorporate wayfinding signage to address construction-related navigational issues downtown, to be installed in the coming months.

This fall, the Alliance plans to install more new art pieces at public and private sites south of Houston Street, which may include Fiterman Hall, 99 Church Street, and the East River Waterfront, among others.

Related Links