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Foster + Partners' new 425 Park Avenue tower opens in Manhattan

2022-10-26T18:50:00-04:00

For the third time in this already record-breaking week, Foster + Partners has revealed images of a recently-completed commercial tower after the ribbon-cutting ceremony for the firm’s long-awaited 425 Park Avenue project was held earlier today in Manhattan.

The tapering 897-foot design begins at street level with a 45-foot grand lobby that extends to the first of two setbacks which work to separate the volume into thirds, topped by a 38-foot penthouse floor and three ornamental illuminated aluminum fins. Each section is divided by two triple-height diagrid floors, with the uppermost hosting The Diagrid Club restaurant and lounge operated by prominent Alsatian chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten.

Image: Nigel Young/Foster + Partners

Another two-story, 14,000-square-foot restaurant is located in the tower’s podium and features a 24-foot Larry Poons commission, while its opposite comes complete with a Yayoi Kusama installation and curated meditation spaces contributed by filmmaker David Ly...

New public art commissions for NYC's soon-to-open Grand Central Madison expansion include mosaics by Yayoi Kusama and Kiki Smith

2022-10-24T18:30:00-04:00

The terminal will also be an underground gallery of sorts, featuring enormous mosaics by two female artists with strong New York City connections, M.T.A. Arts & Design, which commissions art for the transit authority, is announcing Friday: Kiki Smith, a longtime resident known for her figurative work, and Yayoi Kusama, the Japanese sculptor and installation artist who lived in the city from 1958 to 1975.

The $11 billion transportation project opens in December after a lengthy 16-year construction period. Kusama’s past public installations have drawn the admiration of millions from outside the art and design worlds, while the German-born and New York-based Smith is considered a leading figure of the Downtown scene that was popular in the city throughout the 1980s and 90s. Both will be tasked with creating floor-to-ceiling mosaics covering 2,400 square feet total, according to the New York Times.

“Whether it’s the constellation ceiling or the Tiffany clock or the statue of Mercury — the art and design make the terminal a true landmark and a destination,” MTA CEO Janno Lieber said last week in a statement. “The new LIRR Grand Central Madison facility below the existing terminal carries this tradition forward with art that elevates the travel experience and creates a sense of place. These 2,400 sq. ft of floor-to-ceiling mosaics are permanent gifts to the people of New York.”

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Exhibit claiming to show works by contemporary Japanese artists Yayoi Kusama and Takashi Murakami faces legal action

2018-10-26T14:16:00-04:00

An exhibit traveling around China is facing legal action by the artists the exhibit claims to be showcasing. According to Nikken Asian Review, a Chinese company has been putting on pop-ups since April that have been displaying forged works meant to be by contemporary Japanese artists Yayoi Kusama and Takashi Murakami. A recent iteration in Shanghai that began in mid-September has already been shut down after Kusama and her representatives were made aware of the fake works.

Neither Kusama, who is known for her playful installations, nor Murakami, whose work blends Japanese traditional and pop culture, are claiming any involvement with the various exhibitions. Kusama’s lawyer, Yoshifumi Onodera has said they are looking into taking legal action against the organizers who have not yet been identified. Murakami’s attorney, Hiroshi Kamiyama, echoed this sentiment, telling reporters at the Asian Review that they are considering a similar response.

As China's art market has grown into an 8...

Yayoi Kusama 'Narcissus Garden' on view at the Rockaways this summer

2018-06-18T19:09:00-04:00

The Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama‘s reflective Narcissus Garden, which she first showed at the Venice Biennale in 1966, is set to open in the Rockaways on July 1. The work, which is comprised of 1,500 mirrored, stainless steel orbs, will be installed in a former train garage at New York’s Fort Tilden, a former US military base on the beach. Kusama’s Narcissus Garden was also on view at Philip Johnson’s Glass House in 2016 and at England’s Chatsworth House in 2009.

Gateway National Recreation Area at Fort Tilden, T9 building. Site of Yayoi Kusama’s Narcissus Garden for Rockaway! 2018. Image courtesy MoMA PS1. Photo: Pablo Enriquez.

"Narcissus Garden was first presented in 1966 when Kusama staged an unofficial installation and performance at the 33rd Venice Biennale," explains the project description issued today by MoMA PS1. "The silver spheres, originally made from plastic, were installed on the lawn in front of the Italian Pavilion, reflecting the landscape of the exhibition grounds. Kusama herself stood among them, barefoot and dressed in a gold kimono, alongside yard signs inscribed with the words 'Narcissus Garden, Kusama' and 'Your Narcissism for Sale.' Throughout the opening day of the exhibition, Kusama remained in the installation, tossing the spheres in the air and offering to sell them to visitors for 1200 lire (approximately $2) each. The action, which was viewed both as self-promotion and a critique on the commercialization of cont...