Welcome to the new year! The first month of 2024 brings with it a series of exciting new art installations to check out in New York City. Despite the colder winter temperatures, there are still plenty of public art pieces to see as you navigate the subway, walk the streets, and pop into the latest immersive art experiences. Check out what’s new this January!
1. World of AI•Magination at ARTECHOUSE
ARTECHOUSE’s newest exhibit, titled “World of AI•magintion” combines generative algorithms with human creativity. The multi-sensory experience is 20 minutes long with 360-degree visuals displayed in the basement space which once served as the boiler room inside Chelsea Market. Viewers can watch six enthralling scenes unfurl. Follow through the ethereal “Submerge” to “GAN Mecca,” which takes inspiration from Zaha Hadid and M.C Escher. Watch bookshelves come to life in “Library of Magical Portals,” which morphs into “Symphony of Illusions.” Fall into the designs of “Infinite Maze,” finally culminating with “The Dreamer’s Emporium.” Untapped New York Insiders can experience this new show for free on January 9th, 18th, and February 7th! Learn more here or book your tickets now. World of AI•Magination will run through March 17th, 2024.
2. Infinite Orbits at Fulton Center
Carter Hodgkin brings a spacey new digital installation to Fulton Transit Center with Infinite Orbits. This digital display is an abstract and animated visualization of atomic particle collisions derived from code. The resulting imagery represents the creation of energy and the architectural shapes of the transit center. The installation inhabits 52
different screens throughout Fulton Center and the Dey Street pedestrian tunnel. Viewers can catch the swirling animations as they play for two minutes at the top of every hour.
Underground Art in the Subway Tour
See more art at Fulton Center on our upcoming Subway Art Tour!
3. Limitless at Mercer Labs
“LIMITLESS” by Roy Nachum is the first exhibition to be on display at Mercer Labs in Lower Manhattan inside the Museum of Art and Technology. This new exhibition space has taken over the former East River Savings Bank at 21 Dey Street, once part of Century21. Nachum’s work “intertwines art with technology in unprecedented ways, unveiling a tapestry of childhood memories, nature’s beauty, and digital innovation.” Tickets for early preview access to this immersive experience are on sale now.
4. Great Waves of Immigration at 181 St.
Artist Carmen Lizardo captures the immigrant experience in three new mosaic murals at the 181 St. (A) subway station. You can find the murals on the north mezzanine next to the newly installed elevators and on the walls above the north stairs that lead to the northbound and southbound platforms. Fabricated in Mexico, the mosaic murals span 370 square feet. Images of Washington Heights are superimposed over portraits of immigrants from the area and scenes from the journey to the United States. In hues of yellow, blue, green, red, and grey you can see depictions of the George Washington Bridge, a full yola (Dominican boat), immigrant portraits, and elements of upper Manhattan architecture.
5. Broadway: Then & Now at Ilka Tanya Payán Plaza
Broadway: Then & Now offers pedestrians a glimpse into the past at the intersection of Broadway and W. 157th Street. The lenticular display shows how the streetscape has transformed over the past century by blending an archival image taken by Thaddeus Wilkerson in 1910 with a photograph of the same location taken by the artist, Adrian Sas, in 2023. The time-warp effect is activated as viewers walk by and one photograph dissolves into the other. The 1910 photo shows the street as it was when a dairy distribution hub occupied the building that houses a Chipotle and a gym. The streets were occupied by horses and buggies and people in suits and hats, while today they are filled with cars and bicycles and pedestrians in casual clothes. This installation will be on view through March 2024.
6. Auguries at Grand Central Terminal
Birds are landing at the dining concourse of Grand Central Terminal in photographer Rory Mulligan’s new series, Auguries. In the photography lightboxes spread throughout the East and West Dining Concourse at Grand Central Terminal, commuters can examine twenty images that depict birds in unexpected settings. The constructed backdrops are made of fabric and found materials. During the pandemic, Mulligan began shooting these avian portraits as a way to capture a sense of connection and peace amongst isolation and uncertainty. He employed ethical bird photography techniques as set forth by the National Audobon Society to capture the colorful scenes.
7. Midnight Moment in Times Square
Aron Sanchez-Baranda gives Times Square pedestrians a close-up look at unique sea creatures in the latest Midnight Moment video, titled sessile board members. Known as the “flower of the sea,” sessiles are a type of sea anemone. Every night throughout January, these “glistening, pulsing, vibrant-hued invertebrates” will inhabit the billboard screens of Times Square. Sanchez-Baranda has been documenting creatures off the Californian coast for over a decade. He captures footage so close up that the subjects become abstract. He then further manipulates the footage to enhance the barely perceptible movements of the sessiles. The effect is colorful and mesmerizing!
8. The Straphangers Lounge
Take a seat in a full-scale subway car made entirely out of textiles inside The Straphangers Lounge at the New York Marriott Marquis in Times Square! This free interactive installation was handcrafted by artists Karima Sundarji and Sue Hunter. It features a life-size subway car with classic orange seats from the 1970s R46 models, a platform wall covered with homages to various artists who have created pieces for MTA Arts & Design like Sophie Blackall (Missed Connections poster), Xenobia Bailey (Funktional Vibrations mosaic) and Milton Glaser (Astor Place mosaic), and subway signs all made entirely of textiles. You’ll even spot a felt pizza rat and a knit cup of spilled coffee from a Greek coffee cup. The installation is on view from January 26th to 28th, 2024. Â Â
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