It’s almost September and we’ve completely refreshed our monthly picks for the best outdoor art installations with all new selections. While many of our selections from summer will still be live, these are new ones to discover during your explorations of New York City.
1. Alicia Kwade Reflects on Time in “Against the Run”
“Against the Run” Clock in Central Park.
Desire Linesleaves the Doris C. Freedman Plaza on August 30th, but the Public Art Fund‘s, Alicja Kwade’s “Against the Run” will take its place at the Central Park location. You might recognize the Polish-born, Berlin-based artist from the Public Art Fund‘s 2013 group show at City Hall Park (“Lightness of Being”). This, her first solo exhibit and is a very timely installation as we move into the fall.
The installation is a 16-foot tall version of a classic New York City street clock but runs both backward and forward, all the while keeping correct time. “Against the Run” will be counting the minutes from September 10 through February 14, 2016.
2. The “100 Gates” Project Brightens the Lower East Side
The 100 Gates Program beautifies the otherwise drab protective storefront gates through a partnership between local business owners and local artists. The Lower East Side Business Improvement District awarded a $30,000 grant for paint supplies and honorarium for the artists. You can take a self-guided tour using the below map from the 100 Gates website:
3. Jose Parla’s Segmented Realities at The Standard Hotel
“Segmented Realities” is artist Jose Parla’s latest installation at The Standard Hotel. Here Parla has created three large-scale, colorful “canvases” of beautifully textured surfaces, reminiscent of the High Line as he remembers it years ago. And what better place to view them than right next to the High Line on the hotel’s plaza. Mr. Parla, who lives in Brooklyn, is also known for his stunning new large-scale mural at One World Trade Center. In addition, on September 12, his exhibition “Surface Body/Action Space” will open between two galleries in Chelsea; Bryce Wolkowitz and Mary Boon Galleries.
4. Street Art’s Weird Crew Arrives in Bushwick
Weird Crew, the acclaimed street art group from Germany and Austria, has arrived in Brooklyn prepping for an exhibit at Bushwick’s Exit Room on August 28th. But first, Weird Crew completed a mural on Johnson Avenue in homage to the workers who keep the city going–those they call “invisible New Yorkers.”
The exhibit, Weird World, will be on display through September 10th. Located at Exit Room, 270 Meserole Street in Brooklyn.
5. FAILE Contemplates Spirituality and Desire in Times Square
The duo Patrick McNeil and Patrick Miller, also known as FAILE introduced the installation “Wishing On You” to Times Square. Located on the Broadway Plaza between 42nd and 43rd Street, the Asian prayer wheel has been designed to be a kaleidoscopic history of Times Square. With this installation, they are inviting the audience to actually spin (although it is heavy) the wheel, and contemplate the images which explore our patterns of consumption, myth-making and desire. Viewers are asked to think about spirituality and desire in the context of affluent global cities.
You can also catch FAILE at the Brooklyn Museum, which partnered on this Times Square installation, with the exhibit FAILE: Savage/Sacred Young Minds through October 4th.
6. Roy Lichtenstein Outdoors and In
You will find Roy Lichtenstein outdoors and in this month. First at Plaza 33, a pedestrian plaza on 33rd Street next to Penn Station includes a Roy Lichtenstein sculpture on the corner of Seventh Avenue.
Then, “Roy Lichtenstein: Greene Street Mural” is a full-scale replica of an original mural painting by Lichtenstein in 1983 that was shown at the Castelli Gallery on Greene Street. It was destroyed at the conclusion of the exhibit, as planned. The replica has been created, under the supervision of his former studio assistant, and in keeping with tradition, will also be destroyed at the conclusion of this exhibit. This 96-foot wall painting will be shown at the Gagosian Gallery, 555 West 24th Street from September 10th through October 17th. Opening Reception September 10th from 6 pm to 8 pm.
7. Keith Haring at Plaza 33
Also at Plaza 33 is a Keith Haring Sculpture, located at the entrance to the Penn Plates pop-up market by UrbanSpace, surrounded by tables, chairs and colorful umbrellas. The Keith Haring and Roy Lichtenstein sculptures at the pedestrian plaza are part of a three-month trial period, and will be surrounded by musical performances, fitness workshops, movie screenings and pedestrians lounging in the Summer sun.
8. Ten Murals in One Day at Pacific Park in Brooklyn
Pacific Park Brooklyn (formerly known as Atlantic Yards), tapped the talented artist Mike Perry to curate 10 murals acrossan 820-foot canvas to cover a part of the 22-acre construction site. The ten artists each worked on a 10′ x 40′ canvas and the artwork was all done in one day – August 15. The murals, known as “10 Murals 1 Day” are located at the Pacific Park Brooklyn construction site, between Vanderbilt Avenue and Carlton Avenue and are expected to be up for at least three years.
9. Kerry James Marshall is “Above the Line” on The High Line
Kerry James Marshall mural “Above the Line” at the High Line
“Above the Line” by artist Kerry James Marshall is on the wall at West 22nd Street along the High Line. This site-specific black and white is an extension of the artists’ cartoon strip “Rhythm Mastr”, which is a narrative addressing the lack of black superheroes found in American comics. With Comic Con right around the corner (Javitz Center this Fall), it’s perfect timing for this installation.
You can also still view the fourteen works of art that make up the High Line installation “Panorama” through March 2016.
10. Coney Art Walls Transform an Empty Lot
The Coney Art Walls, presented by Thor Equities and curated by Jeffrey Deitch and Joseph J. Sitt, is a compilation of work by 34 celebrated street artists who transformed a 55,000 square foot vacant lot into colorful walls depicting local culture. As part of an ongoing effort to restore the vitality of the surrounding area, Jeffrey Deitch is no stranger to these installation, having worked with Tony Goldman in Miami on the Wynwood Walls and “Art in the Streets” exhibition at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles in 2011. In addition, Mr. Ditch is the author of several books on the subject, including a monograph on Keith Haring published by Rizzoli.
Josh Dorman has taken early 1900s soil sample maps, antique collage elements and paint, and woven them together to create his own vision. This site-specific installation created for the windows at One New York Plaza in the Financial District consists of twelve 7 x 9 foot colorful collages, where he has turned loamy soil regions into clouds, gravel deposit bands into mountains, and rivers into snakes. The city grids become sparkling gems. Josh Dorman lives and works in New York City. Curated by Tom Kotik, “American Soil” is sponsored by ArtsBrookfield and will run from August 24 through September 25.
12. The SeaGlass Carousel at The Battery
The SeaGlass Carousel at The Battery
The Battery’s much anticipated SeaGlass Carousel opened to the public on August 20th. Designed by WXY Architecture with a historic theme and throwback to the original home of the New York Aquarium, the carousel’s aquatic components were designed by artist George Tsypin of the George Tsypin Opera Factory. Holding thirty colorful fish sculptures, each with a seat within, the carousel creates an underwater-like experience. The carousel also includes a sophisticated lighting system and a sound system inside each of the thirty fish.
Located just off State Street near the Staten Island Ferry, the carousel is open daily from 10 am to 10 pm, with a $5 cost per ride.
Three Installations Coming Down in September
Three installations featured in our outdoor art installation picks from August will be moving on in September. If you haven’t seen them yet, below is information on where and when.
“Against the Run” Clock in Central Park. 
