Casa Batllo by Refik Anadol
Courtesy of Refik Anadol Studio

With summer fast approaching, May is the perfect time to head outside and explore the city’s ever-changing public art scene. This May, be sure to check out the virtual bird installation, Bird’s Eye View, at Battery Park City, Yvonne Shortt’s dog sculpture Peppermint, and the AI-generated Midnight Moment’s video Critically Extant. In addition, read on to learn more about art installations still up from previous months.

1. Steel Bodies at Socrates Sculpture Park

Steel bodies installation at Socrates Sculpture park
Maren Hassinger, Steel Bodies, Socrates Sculpture Park, 2022. Image by Joyce Chan

From May 28 through March 5, 2023, Socrates Sculpture Park will host Steel Bodies, New York-based artist Maren Hassinger’s new sculpture series. Since the early 1970s, Hassinger has explored the relationship between nature and humanity, covering topics such as movement, family, love, nature, environment, and consumerism in her work. 

Scattered throughout the park will be various steel sculptures in the forms of iconic vessels drawing types from not only Hassinger’s own artistic practice, but also more broadly from the ancient Western world, non-Western cultures, and craft traditions. Steel Bodies seeks to examine the complications of human interrelation, affinity, identity, and collectiveness through juxtaposing abstract elements to the outdoors.