September 1, 2020
Pittsburgh-based Thaddeus Mosley’s three monumental freestanding sculptures, entitled Illusory Progression, True to Myth and Rhizogenic Rhythms are located on 5th Avenue. Photo: Diane Bonareff/ AP for Tishman Speyer
After being postponed for months by the pandemic, a large-scale public art installation was finally unveiled Tuesday in Rockefeller Plaza, featuring works by six prominent artists that will remain free and open to the public until October.
Frieze Sculpture, now in its second year, was pushed from the spring to the later summer. Featured artists this year include Andy Goldsworthy, Ghada Amer and Thaddeus Mosley.
The works were inspired by the city’s own natural materials and also by the 50th anniversary of Earth Day, the original planned date for the exhibition. The outdoor sculpture park will remain open to the public through Oct. 2, with enough space to ensure social distancing.
Goldsworthy, a British sculptor known for his ephemeral, nature-based works, has an installation titled “Red Flags,” in which Rockefeller Center’s iconic flags are replaced by flags colored with earth gathered from each of the 50 U.S. states.
German artist Lena Henke has two new sculptures, “R.M.M. (Power Broker Purple)” and “R.M.M. (Organ, Organ, Organ Red)” which combine her own personal experiences with the controversial designs of former New York City “master builder” Robert Moses. They consist of large, colorful hooves and were based in part of Henke’s own body.
Amer, born in Egypt and based in New York, has a garden installation, “Women’s Qualities,” based on a study she conducted in South Korea in 2000 in which she asked people what qualities they find most important in women. The work combines those opinions with perspectives from Americans in 2020, and are written in flowers.
Beatriz Cortez, a Los Angeles-based artist originally from El Salvador, has a new work, “Glacial Erratic,” made of steel frame and sheet metal and evoking an ancient boulder.
French artist Camille Henrot‘s “Inside Job” is a bronze sculpture installed in Rockefeller Center’s Channel Garden. It evokes the shape of a shark, or the beak of a bird, and explores themes of tenderness and threat, according to a news release.
Pittsburgh-based Thaddeus Mosley‘s three monumental freestanding sculptures, entitled “Illusory Progression,” “True to Myth,” and “Rhizogenic Rhythms,” are located on 5th Avenue in front of the Channel Gardens, and are composed of salvaged Pittsburgh timber and discarded wood fragments.
