Knicks Fever

Our neighbors at Madison Square Garden are having quite the exciting season! For the first time since 1999, the New York Knicks are playing in the NBA Finals, and, along with the rest of New York, we could not be more delighted. Game one was a thrilling win that has us hoping for a sweep. In celebration of their historic run, we stopped by the specially designed Knicks Subway station stairway at Madison Square Garden, planned by the MTA. With basketball-shaped light posts and the team’s signature orange and blue colors painted across the gates, the stairway has certainly brightened our commute. Our office, just a few blocks south of the team’s home arena, is betting on Brunson and gearing up for what is sure to be a fantastic second game tonight. Let’s Go Knicks!

“Even Still” by Almond Zigmund

After this week’s thrilling blizzard, we found ourselves drawn to a pop of color amidst the yet again snow-covered landscape. Located in Bella Abzug Park within the Hudson Yards neighborhood, we braved the slush and wind to visit the eye-popping installation “Even Still” by New York based artist Almond Zigmond. Rising above the walkways of the park, the sculpture is an emblem of contrast in both its shape and coloring. Drawing from her inspirations of geometry as a simultaneously unifying and destabilizing force, Zigmond creates an experience of tension for the viewer. The soft curves of the structure are offset by straight, unyielding lines in bright colors which adorn it. Instead of yielding to the discomfort of dissonance, “Even Still” encourages us to embrace the natural contradictions that embody each of us and our environment to find harmony.

Winter Glow

Though the holiday season is over, we are happy to see the light displays continue setting NYC aglow on these short winter days. In downtown New York, visitors can bask in “Winter Glow,” a collection of interactive art installations lighting up Flatiron Plaza . Two exhibitions, “The Diamonds” and “Spectrum,” use movement and light to dazzle spectators. “The Diamonds” by Perséides Studio consist of three colorful structures that light up when they spin, featuring music by Stefie Shock that changes as the speed of rotation varies. Across the plaza is “Spectrum,” by Mirari from QDSinternational, which plays off of communication as it lights up to show sound waves pass through its circles. These interactive exhibitions are perfect for a little light therapy to brighten winter’s gloomy evenings.

Penguin Parade Sculpture Trail

A colony of penguins have shed their tuxedos and descended upon London, calling the Fleet Street Quarter home through January 5th. The “Penguin Parade Sculpture Trail” is made up of  twelve individual penguins decked out in their holiday finest. Each penguin is designed by a different artist in collaboration with Wild in Art and the conservation charity WWF, and the sculptures share interesting facts about our fine feathered friends and the Fleet Street Quarter. Author and stand-up comedian Olaf Falafel provides an audio tour through the parade and visitors can use a map to locate the entire waddling crew. On our recent quest through the neighborhood, we were greeted by penguins Percy, Buddy, Snowy, Santa Paws, Kevin the Kinguin, The Forest at Christmas, and Pullover Penguin.

“On Growth” by Kapwani Kiwanga

“On Growth” by Canadian artist Kapwani Kiwanga is one of the latest additions to the public art on display on the High Line. The colorful sculpture uses architecture and horticulture to create artwork inspired by marginalized or forgotten histories.

Known for her work that explores gender, colonialism, and the African diaspora, Kiwanga drew inspiration for this sculpture from Wardian cases, early versions of terrariums, which were used in the late nineteenth century to transport plants from around the world to Europe. “On Growth” depicts a fern enclosed in an intricately crafted case that glimmers with dichroic glass.  Depending on where you stand, the special glass plays with the light that passes through, transforming its colors and tones. The installation will be on display on the high line until October.