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    Across 92 Screens in Times Square, Yuge Zhou’s ‘Trampoline Color Exercise’ Celebrates Global Unity

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    All images © Yuge Zhou, courtesy of Times Square Arts, shared with permission

    Across 92 Screens in Times Square, Yuge Zhou’s ‘Trampoline Color Exercise’ Celebrates Global Unity

    May 27, 2025

    Art

    Kate Mothes

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    Spanning a gridded background of rectangular, pink trampolines, hundreds of gymnasts mesmerizingly flip and twist, shapeshifting as they tuck and tumble. “Trampoline Color Exercise,” a monumental digital video collage installation by Chicago-based artist Yuge Zhou, takes a bird’s-eye view of athletes at peak form while abstracting their bodies and movements into undulating ripples of color.

    Born in China, Zhou has long explored the emotional, psychological, and geographic distance between her chosen home in the Midwest and the country of her birth. Themes of separation, loyalty, and cultural contrasts undergird much of her multidisciplinary work. She initiated her series of Moon Drawings, for example, during the pandemic when she was unable to travel the long distance to to Beijing to visit family.

    For “Trampoline Color Exercise,” Zhou interrogates colors in their role as national symbols. Pulling from archival Olympics footage, she collages gymnasts wearing primary colors in a nod to global national flags, literally and figuratively fluctuating in a reflection of our ever-evolving geopolitical reality.

    “‘Trampoline Color Exercise’ was created over the past few years amid intense political and international divisions, and now it feels especially timely,” Zhou says in a statement. “At its heart, the work is a celebration of globalization and a reflection on allegiance.”

    Co-presented by Times Square Arts and artnet, the monumental work will be screened across 92 electronic billboards in the legendary New York City intersection. Part of Times Square Arts’ Midnight Moment series, the city’s largest public art program, visitors will be able to see Zhou’s three-minute work every night between June 1 and 30, starting at 11:57 p.m.

    Explore more on Zhou’s website.

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      When Banksy Came to Red Hook and Made His Mark

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      A chunk of wall that bears the work of the graffiti artist will go on display in Manhattan this month.Good morning. It’s Tuesday. Today we’ll find out about what happened to a 7,500-pound chunk of a wall with a Banksy installation from 2013. We’ll also get details on a request from Mayor Eric Adams’s lawyer for a federal judge to hurry a decision on whether to drop corruption charges against the mayor.Guernsey’sA dark-colored van parked down the block from Vassilios Georgiadis’s nondescript warehouse in Red Hook, Brooklyn, one evening in 2013. Georgiadis, a roofing and asbestos abatement contractor, noticed it because he was standing outside, smoking.He told the man who got out of the van that it was not a good idea to leave it in that spot. Tractor-trailers turning the corner too fast could clip the car, Georgiadis said.The man said he would not be there long. He said something about how he just wanted to run to a convenience store nearby for cigarettes and coffee. Georgiadis told him to pull into an empty space in the driveway outside the warehouse. The man did and headed off. The van was still there when Georgiadis left a little while later.Georgiadis worked at home the next day, and then took some paperwork to his son Anastasios, who spent the day on a roofing job on Staten Island, ignoring calls from his mother.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

    • 175 Shares179 Views

      in Art

      Cosmic Birds Soar Through New York City Subway Stations in Fred Tomaselli’s New Mosaics

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      ‘Wild Things’ (2024), glass and ceramic mosaics. Commissioned by MTA Arts & Design for 14 St-7 Av station. Photo by Photo: Trent Reeves. All images © Fred Tomaselli and NYC Transit 14 St Station Complex, shared with permission

      Cosmic Birds Soar Through New York City Subway Stations in Fred Tomaselli’s New Mosaics

      November 13, 2024

      Art

      Kate Mothes

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      Known for his large-scale, collaged resin paintings and ongoing series of reimagined front pages of The New York Times, Fred Tomaselli is captivated by what he describes as the “friction” between beauty and ugliness or internal and external forces. He often observes interactions between humanity and nature through rhythmic patterns and vibrant colors.

      In New York City’s 14 St-6 Av and 14 St-7 Av subway stations, a series of new murals titled Wild Things have been unveiled in the historical spirit of the MTA mosaics. An avid birder, the Brooklyn-based artist highlights species that live year-round in New York City.

      Detail of mosaic in 14 St-7 Av station

      Scenes brightening up passageways and stairwells include orioles mobbing a falcon, a bright sky full of electric blue clouds, a spiral-eyed, cosmic cardinal, and more.

      Wild Things marks Tomaselli’s first permanent public artwork in Manhattan and reflects his mixed-media approach to collage in ceramics and glass. Commissioned by MTA Art & Design, the mosaics join more than 350 permanent installations accessible to public 24/7.

      Learn more about the artist’s work on Instagram. You might also enjoy Contemporary Art Underground, a celebration of New York City Subway art, Nick Cave’s 360-food “Soundsuit” installation, or Nancy Blum’s sprawling tile blossoms.

      Passageway from 7 Av to 6 Av

      Detail of work in passageway from 7 Av to 6 Av

      Mosaic located in 14 St-6 Av

      Mosaic located in 14 St-6 Av

      Detail of mosaic located in 14 St-6 Av

      Mosaic located in 14 St-6 Av

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    • 125 Shares149 Views

      in Street Art

      “Ocean Ecosystem Restoration Mural” by Dulk in New York City

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      Valencian artist Antonio Segura aka Dulk’s latest mural in New York City is an awe-inspiring tribute to the city’s growing whale population and the broader mission of environmental restoration. Painted in collaboration with Street Art for Mankind, this vibrant mural supports the UN Environment Programme’s global initiative on ecosystem restoration. With stunning marine imagery, the mural tells the powerful story of nature’s resilience, showcasing species like the humpback whale, sperm whale, and even the northern right whale—one of the world’s most endangered species. The work is a celebration of a healthier Hudson River Estuary, a testament to the success of ongoing efforts to clean and restore local waterways.The mural highlights the fact that many New Yorkers are still surprised to learn: whales have returned to the waters around New York City. Thanks to organizations like Riverkeeper, which has been protecting and restoring the Hudson River since 1966, the river is now cleaner, and the aquatic life within it is flourishing. The resurgence of Atlantic menhaden, a crucial food source for whales, has helped bring these magnificent creatures back to the area. Dulk’s mural captures this fascinating moment of ecological recovery, with playful, colorful depictions of whales, sea turtles, and other marine life.In addition to showcasing whales, the mural features a variety of other species native to the Hudson River ecosystem. From the Atlantic sturgeon to the adorable piping plover perched atop the humpback whale, Dulk uses his artwork to celebrate the diversity and vitality of marine life in this urban setting. His playful yet intricate style invites viewers to explore the hidden details in the mural, while also encouraging reflection on the importance of environmental conservation.Dulk’s artistic language is rooted in nature, with a focus on endangered species and ecological themes. His unique ability to blend vibrant color, detailed character design, and a sense of whimsy makes his work both visually captivating and deeply meaningful. In this mural, his message is clear: art can be a powerful tool to raise awareness about environmental issues, offering a visual representation of hope, restoration, and renewal.Stay tuned with us for more street art news from around the globe as we continue to explore the intersection of art and environmental advocacy! defaultdefault More

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      in Street Art

      Manfred Kirchheimer, ‘Indispensable’ New York Filmmaker, Dies at 93

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      For decades, he meticulously crafted short films and documentaries in relative obscurity. Then, in his 80s, he enjoyed a burst of productivity and acclaim.Manfred Kirchheimer, a filmmaker who was drawn to stickball, jazz, subway graffiti, gargoyles on old buildings and the memories of aging immigrants, and who after decades of slowpoke perfectionism earned a reputation as a master of nonfiction cinema, died on July 16 at his home on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. He was 93.The cause was cancer, his son Gabe said.Mr. Kirchheimer often wrote, produced, directed and edited his movies as well as photographed them. He worked hard to get funding from nonprofit sources, and he earned a living as a freelance film editor and a film professor at the School of Visual Arts in Manhattan from the mid-1970s until the mid-2010s.His camera moved at the speed of people-watching: lingering for an extra moment to relish a certain scene, turning to something else in the bounty of street sights, then returning his gaze somewhere it had already been, hungry for a second helping.He found dignity and delight in what other New Yorkers overlooked or even disdained. Mayor Ed Koch, for instance, called subway graffiti blight, but Mr. Kirchheimer exulted in the subway exteriors of the late 1970s as traveling canvases. He made the subway the main character of his 1981 movie, “Stations of the Elevated,” with a soundtrack by Charles Mingus that suggested that graffiti could have the same rough, improvisational genius as his jazz.The subway cars that Mr. Kirchheimer filmed featured a portrait of a hitchhiking snowman; a verdant landscape overseen by a smiling, big-eyed sun; and cryptic messages in bubble letters — “HEAVEN IS LIFE,” “am nor disaster!” He followed the trains from Woodlawn Cemetery in the Bronx, at the city’s northern edge, past South Bronx tenements whose stoops hosted playing children, all the way to the beaches of Coney Island.Mr. Kirchheimer exulted in the subway exteriors of the late 1970s as traveling canvases and made them the focus of his 1981 movie, “Stations of the Elevated.”Manfred Kirchheimer/Cinema ConservancyWe are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      in Street Art

      New York’s Secret Signatures

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