New York City is home to numerous art museums and fantastic displays. If you want to enjoy some magnificent pieces without needing to head indoors, here are a few examples of outdoor pieces that you might wish to explore.
KAWS, New York Made: Stanton Street Courts
Renowned pop artist KAWS has teamed up with Nike to bring outdoor art to the two adjacent basketball courts located in Sara D. Roosevelt Park in the Lower East Side. In keeping with the KAWS style of remixing iconic cartoon characters, this interesting installation looks a lot like Sesame Street’s Elmo. The Sara D. Roosevelt Park is located at Chrystie Street and Forsyth Street.
Bjorn Skaarup: Hippo Ballerina
Inspired by the hippos of Walt Disney’s Fantasia and Degas’ Little Dancer Aged Fourteen, a 15-foot bronze hippo designed by Bjorn Skaarup is situated in the middle of the intersection at 64th Street and Broadway. The sculpture acknowledges motifs from great artists in a whimsical way.
Simone Leigh: InHarlem
Three huts located in Marcus Garvey Park are actually sculptures created by Brooklyn artist Simone Leigh. The installation is meant to depict imbas, which are kitchen houses found in rural areas of Zimbabwe, while evoking feelings of what it is like to live outside of the place that is considered home. Marcus Garvey Park is located at 18 Mt. Morris Park W.
Liz Glynn: Open House
Created by Liz Glynn in partnership with the Public Art Fund, Open House is designed to resemble an open ballroom with elaborate chair, foot stools and sofas cast in concrete. Located in Doris C. Freedman Plaza in Central Park, the goal was to create a piece to highlight the differences between the spaces that served the city’s wealthy elite versus the role of the park as a public space for all.
Yasumitsu Morito: Spirity of New York City
The 14-acre Carl Schurz Park is home to a sculpture from Japanese artist Yasumitsu Morito called Spirit of New York City. Designed to resemble a Greek statue of a male figure consumed in thought, the goal of the piece was to encourage people to consider what it means to be human.
Nari Ward: G.O.A.T., again
G.O.A.T., again, which was created by Jamaican artist Nari Ward, offers a play on words, with G.O.A.T. standing for “Greatest of All Time.” The exhibit, which is part of a series of six outdoor artworks that will be presented at Socrates Sculpture Park, will span the entirety of the park’s five-acre landscape. It will also be the first presentation of a single artist to take place in the park in the 30 years since it has been there. Socrates Sculpture Park is located at 32-01 Vernon Boulevard in Long Island City.
Katja Novitskova: EARTH POTENTIAL
Emerging artist Katja Novitskova is helping the Public Art Fund celebrate its 40th anniversary this June with her EART POTENTIAL exhibit. Comprised of a series of seven flat aluminum sculptures with digitally printed visuals, the piece elicits thoughts of how technological developments have shifted our view of the world around us. The exhibit will be on display at City Hall Park, which is located at 43 Park Row.