43 years sculpture expositions on Park Avenue in New York

Established back in 1972, temporary sculpture exhibitions on Park Avenue in New York are a unique opportunity to meet with contemporary artists and works of art. The exhibitions are organized and presented by two partnering organisations - Sculpture Committee of the Fund for Sculpture and Program Parks & Recreation of the City of New York. Exhibitions are organised under the auspices of the two organizations, in collaboration with selected artists, their galleries and / or other organizations related to Arts. Exhibitions usually last 2-4 months. Sculpture works can be installed in malls or entrances at both ends of each mall, and depending on seasonal plants and the specific works, exhibiting the sculpture can also be allowed within the flower beds, with the approval of the Fund for Park Avenue. Please take into consideration that viewers are not encouraged to visit the malls but sculptures can be seen from the street, from footpaths and pavements, so artists have to accept this point of view and should take it into account when planning the placement of their work. Installations may be offered to the malls north of Grand Central, from 46th Street to 96th Street; however, most projects are organized between 50th and 57th streets, as these sites are commercial, not residential and are in a green park. There are concrete pots (which can be moved in some cases) and hedges, ornamental trees, among which are placed the ventilation holes on the subway.

These works are among the large flow of tourists and shoppers, and of course they are for sale. Prices vary according to the author and the gallery presenting him, but for a hundred thousand dollars you can buy a decent work of a famous artist. Expositions are usually organized by galleries and foundations, but individual artists could also exhibit, by applying for the 10 000-dollar prize in the name of a longtime curator of this art zone. In 2012 forty years of these exhibitions were celebrated on Park Avenue.

Our Christo uses this well-oiled machine to present his work in Central Park, which gave him the opportunity to take for a ride Mayor Rudy Giuliani with his Maybach.

In recent years some famous authors have been presented, such as -

2015 Santiago Calatrava.July - November 2015

2014 Ewerdt Hilgemann, Moments in a Stream. August – early November, 2014

Alice Aycock, Park Avenue Paper Chase. March – July, 2014

2013 Albert Paley, July – November, 2013 .Alexandre Arrechea March – June, 2013

Tom Friedman's "Looking Up", a 33.3-foot-tall stainless steel sculpture could be seen on Park Avenue and East 53rd Street, New York from January to September 2016. Park Avenue and East 53rd Street, New York. Luhring Augustine, New York; Stephen Friedman Gallery, London; NYC Parks; and the Fund for Park Avenue are pleased to present the sculpture.

Night Presence IV of Louise Nevelson is the only permanently installed work on Park Avenue (at 93rd Street). The Citywide Monuments Conservation Program recently restored this iconic sculpture.

Sculpture Advisory Committee’s Chairman is Charles Bergman, and among its members are the iconic Linda Blumberg, Samuel Sachs II, Richard Oldenburg, Ronald Spencer, Esq.

Park Avenue was not always the prestigious address that it is today. In fact, trains ran up and down the avenue at street level prior to 1900. The conversion from steam to electric train power ultimately made it possible for the tracks to be moved underground and wide center medians (now referred to as the malls) were created above them. Over the years, the width of the malls was reduced in order to accommodate more traffic lanes.

Early photographs show fencing, grass and simple plantings. In the 1950s, Mrs. Albert D. Lasker, an early advocate of what we call urban beautification, began planting begonias, tulips and flowering trees on some of the malls to demonstrate to the City that plants could survive amidst all the traffic and pollution. She later convinced the Parks Department to take responsibility for their on-going planting and maintenance.

In 1970, the Parks Department hired landscape architect, Clara Coffey, to redesign the malls. She removed the fences and tall hedges, supplemented existing trees and created planting beds at the end of each mall.

By 1980, the malls had fallen into disrepair. The city was no longer able to continue their maintenance without support from the community. Ronald D. Spencer, then the President of Carnegie Hill Neighbors, conceived of an arrangement between the Park Avenue buildings north of 86th Street, whereby they would each contribute a set amount, based upon the number of shareholders, to pay for the annual planting and maintenance of the malls.

This is the history in brief.