Outdoor Holiday Art Installation "Happy" Unveiled in Front of Flatiron Building

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Flatiron Plaza’s annual holiday outdoor art installation is always a big hit and this year’s is particularly cheerful. Titled “Happy,” the work by Studio Cadena featuring 24 transparency vinyl screens, soft enough to sway with the wind, offering a yellow glow to the everything surrounding it. The work offers a great vantage point to photograph the landmark buildings within distance like the Flatiron Building and the Empire State Building, or can be used equally well as a backdrop, a sculpture to walk in and around, or an aesthetically memorable subject to view from a distance.

“We all wish each other happiness during the holidays. This installation physically manifests this well wishing to all who visit Flatiron,” said Benjamin Cadena, Founder and Principal of Studio Cadena based in Brooklyn. “In our otherwise bleak social and political context, it aspires to carve a small and more positive space in the city—it offers a warm embrace during the cold winter months.” Happy is a simple device to make you stop, wonder, and most importantly, smile,” writes the Flatiron/23rd Street Partnership in the press release.

Happy marks the launch of “23 Days of Flatiron Cheer,” which runs from December 1 to 23 and will feature holiday-themed events, a food drive, free fitness classes, food events with top chefs in the Flatiron district, and more. It’s the seventh year of Flatiron Cheer and the fifth year there has been a competition for a public art installation, in partnership with the Van Alan Institute.