"First Sun" by Monira Al Qadiri

While still adjusting to the weekend’s time change and in search of as much sunlight as we can gather, we wandered through New York’s Central Park in search of “First Sun”, a stunning aluminum sculpture by Senegalese artist Monira Al Qadiri. Positioned at the park’s southeast corner, the piece greets visitors with a mesmerizing play of color and light.

“First Sun” reimagines Khepri, the ancient Egyptian god of the rising sun, denoted by the deity’s scarab face, cast in shimmering purples and blues that shift with the sunlight. The sculpture’s reflective surface and ever-changing hues engage the viewer in a dynamic dialogue with the piece and the natural world  which surrounds it.

Al Qadiri’s choice of location is extremely intentional. The sculpture serves as a symbolic gateway to one of New York’s most beloved green spaces, encouraging visitors to reflect on the transition from the stylized cityscape to the wild of the park. “First Sun” invites us to pause, reconnect with nature, and appreciate the balance between humans and the humble creatures that share our world.

Thanksgiving

Ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday next Thursday, we took a moment to pause and reflect on the little things we are grateful for this year; moments that you may blink and miss amidst the daily grind that is life. Our perspectives are shaped by diverse experiences, such as the daily commute through Central Park with its beautiful views, childhood friendships, passing a chicken coop on the way to the office, tennis matches, the memory of a community aquarium that once thrived in Bed-Stuy, and sunsets. Always sunsets! We are thankful for these daily joys and look forward to celebrating other small moments together in the year to come.  We will be off next week but wanted to wish you and your loved ones a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Photos: 1. Sunset in New Hampshire, 2. Tennis and Sunsets, 3. Central Park, 4. Childhood Friendship, 5. Bed-Stuy Chicken Coop, 6. Brooklyn Views, 7. Bed-Stuy Aquarium, 8. Jogging Route in Miami

“Graft” by Edra Soto

Welcoming visitors at the Fifth Avenue entrance to Central Park stands a new sculpture, “Graft” by Puerto Rican artist Edra Soto. “Graft” is part of a series of installations by Ms. Soto that brings to life the exploration of the relationship between our private lives and what we choose to share with the world.   The four screens are sculpted out of corten steel and terrazzo, which are inspired by rejas, or iron screens commonly seen outside of homes in Puerto Rico. The rejas replicate geometric patterns that may be traced back to West Africa’s symbol systems known as Yoruba and pay homage to the island’s Black heritage which is often overlooked by Puerto Rico’s Spanish Colonial history and architecture.

Visitors can stand on the outside of the sculpture, peering across towards the park, or on the inside, where they are invited to sit at tables and seating that mirror the welcoming interior of a home in Puerto Rico. By welcoming us inside, Soto invites New Yorkers to connect to Puerto Rico and its communities across the city.

Spring has (Cherry) Blossomed!

Every year, mother nature welcomes spring with the most beautiful cherry blossom trees. These trees are known for their gorgeous flowering and are often celebrated through the ancient tradition of “hanami” in Japan where many take time to sit and observe the beautiful flowers on the cherry blossom tree.

Luckily for us, we were able to indulge in hanami and get a sneak peek of the newly blossomed trees in Central Park, with the help of Central Park’s cherry blossom tracker.  You can also experience the beauty of cherry blossoms at the Brooklyn Botanical Gardens and use the Brooklyn Botanical Garden’s cherry blossom tracker to see when and where the blooming trees are. It's still early in the season, so you still have time to enjoy your own hanami and catch this wonderful spring welcome!

“Parabolic Light” by Fred Eversley

At the Fifth Avenue entrance to Central Park, sits a beguiling sculpture curated by The Public Art Fund, called “Parabolic Light.”  Created by the Brooklyn-born artist, Fred Eversley, this sculpture weaves together the elegance of geometry and the play of light.

Hailed by the The New York Times as “[T]he artist who throws Newton a curve” Fred Eversley’s fascination with light finds its origins in his scientific background as an aerospace engineer, a foundation that not only informs but also propels his extraordinary artistry. A True trailblazer in the world of the Light and Space art movement, Mr. Eversley delves into the mesmerizing interplay between light, color, and space, pushing the boundaries of our perceptions and beckoning us to marvel at the profound beauty that surrounds us.

“Parabolic Light” was intended for outdoor exhibition, its substantial size and vibrant magenta color create a striking juxtaposition with the natural landscape. The sculpture itself conceals an optical illusion, inspiring many viewers to capture distorted images through its captivating form, as exemplified in the last slide featuring our own blog photographer!

NYC in Her Splendor

Photo by Andrew Markey

Our weeks-long search has ended: NYC has come into bloom. A walk in Central Park heralds the change of seasons. Magnolias and Cherry Blossoms welcome spring as we enter an oasis full of blooms and Spring colors (complete with the melodies of car horns, construction drilling and squeaky brakes - it is New York City after all!!) This concludes our 2023 “blossom crawl.”  Thanks for coming along. 

“Las flores de mi país” at the Central Park Arsenal

In celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month, the stately and imposing Central Park Arsenal, designed by the architect Martin Thompson plays host to “Las flores de mi país” (The Flowers of My Country), an art exhibit created in collaboration with the Department of Parks and Recreation’s Latino Society and its Art and Antiquities Division showcasing the works of Hispanic artists.

Nestled on the third floor of the Annex, in between offices and conference rooms of the headquarters of the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation, “Las flores de mi país” welcomes the public. “Las flores de mi país” is a wide-ranging and vibrant exhibition centering around plants, nature, and the power of home and heritage. Featuring photographs, paintings, sculpture, and mixed media creations­­, the theme of the show rotates around the beauty and culture of a homeland, and occasionally, the pain of leaving it behind. Works by more than twenty Latinx artists who hail from a variety of Caribbean, South, and Central American nations (including Puerto Rico, Colombia, Mexico, Honduras, Nicaragua, and El Salvador) dot the walls, with great splashes of color and large floral canvases dominating the space. Of particular note are a series of nine paintings by artist Daniel Delvalle, whose day job as a gardener for NYC Parks is immediately apparent in his perceptive and beautiful floral expressions.

“Las flores de mi país” is on view and free to the public through November 10, 2022, in the Arsenal Gallery.

Conservatory Garden

Central Park is usually known for its wide lawns, winding trails, and beautiful lakes. Few people know that the northeast corner of the park is home to six-acres of formal, European-style gardens. The Conservatory Gardens, named for the glass conservatory that was originally built on the site in 1899, are today a set of three immaculately kept gardens. The main gates on 5th Avenue open into the central Italian-style garden. A large, symmetrical parterre is framed at the far end by a wisteria-covered pergola and a simple fountain. The French garden to the north consists of rings of flowerbeds and a paved path surrounding a decorative fountain. The southern garden, designed in the English style, is currently closed for renovations. The gardens, which opened in 1937, were mostly neglected for decades, before the first major restoration took place in the 1980s. They are once again undergoing restoration, and soon the gardens will be accessible to all, and more beautiful than ever.

The Harlem Meer

Central Park, built in the mid-1800s, was the first landscaped public park in the United States. Its designers, Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux, were ambitious, aiming to create a space in the middle of New York City where residents could experience a wide variety of landscapes all in one place. The park successfully combines landscaped gardens, wild wooded areas, pastoral fields, and more. The designers also incorporated several bodies of water – ponds, lakes, and streams – into their plans. In the northeast corner of the park, the Harlem Meer is one such manmade lake. The Meer, Dutch for “lake,” is today a haven for wildlife like fish, turtles, and waterfowl, as well as a popular destination for the neighboring community in Harlem.