38. Oversized Blow Up Flowers on Avenue of the Americas

Photo by Lynn Lieberman of GothamToGo

Grown Up Flowers by Playlab, Inc. is now on view on the Avenue of the Americas through July 2018! Sponsored by the Avenue of the Americas Association, the exhibit is comprised of six giant inflatable flowers installed between 44th Street to 55th Streets.

Untapped Cities contributor AFineLyne, also the author of GothamToGo, writes that each flower has its own name and is lit from the inside for nighttime viewing. The New York-based creative studio, Playlab, Inc., that give rise to the installation is also the mastermind behind the +POOL, the world’s first water filtering floating pool in New York.

39. Giant QUIÉN MANDA Billboard

Image Courtesy of Giovanni Valderas

Artist Giovanni Valderas has designed a giant billboard that reads QUIÉN MANDA against the backdrop of a piñata for, 14×48, a non-profit arts organization that posts public art in the New York City area. The location is yet to be announced but the installation will go up in June.

QUIÉN MANDA, a Spanish idiom which most precisely translates to “Who rules?” poses an emboldened question of agency. Giovanni Valderas’ body of work, which began in Latinx neighborhoods in Dallas, Texas, focuses on engaging with the Latinx community (many of whom are not familiar with contemporary art) through guerrilla and public installations and incorporates Spanglish idioms often used in Chicano/Latinx communities.