New York By Gehry at 8 Spruce Street Spotlights Seasonal Art
As the first skyscraper designed by internationally acclaimed architect Frank Gehry, New York by Gehry at 8 Spruce Street is seen by many as a financial district architectural and artistic icon.
By Jeffrey Steele, Contributing Writer
New York—As the first skyscraper designed by internationally acclaimed architect Frank Gehry, New York by Gehry at 8 Spruce Street is seen by many as a financial district architectural and artistic icon. It’s only fitting, then, that the building has commissioned a new winter-themed objet d’art, which will be available to view as a window installation through January 2015.
The window artwork is by up-and-coming Brooklyn artist Rosa Chang, a Korean-American paper cut artist and mixed media illustrator. Her creation, titled “Icicle Dream,” is inspired by that very ordinary, whimsical and evocative symbol of wintertime, the icicle. Forest City Ratner Companies, the building developer and owner, support the New York by Gehry at 8 Spruce Street project.
“We did look at a number of artists,” Scott Walsh, vice president of New York City-based Forest City Ratner Companies, tells MHN. “We were interested in how to do a modern artistic expression of the season. It was an opportunity in a dark time of year to do something interesting with the windows of the building…Her piece is fitting with the architecture of the building and the season.”
“Icicle Dream” creates an illusion of interior and outdoor spaces, beckoning viewers to envision a whimsical winter world of their own. Using both sides of the paper and exposing different colors, Chang drew upon abstract, three-dimensional curving forms to symbolize the icicles in the work of art.
“Every single moment I worked on the project was filled with joy,” Chang says.
New York by Gehry at 8 Spruce Street is a 76-story, 899-residence high-rise offering spectacular living spaces, first-rate amenities and dramatic views.
The design-forward skyscraper has been in the forefront in the redefinition of the Lower Manhattan skyline, and has become synonymous with the Financial District’s transformation into a live-work, 24-7 neighborhood.
“It is a great opportunity to give the gift of innovative art to our residents and neighbors, as well as to collaborate with a talented young New York-based artist like Rosa Chang,” Walsh adds.
Chang creates works of art inspired by her childhood experiences that investigate themes of love and spirituality. Her youthful memories are reinterpreted as symbolic shapes formed by silhouette designs cut into paper. She also creates linocut prints utilizing fabric and rubber plates.
Chang is a student at the School of Visual Arts in New York City, where she is pursuing an MFA in the Visual Narrative Program. She received her BFA from Maryland Institute College of Art in 2011.
“We have gotten good feedback, indicating people do like it,” Walsh says of “Icicle Dream.” “It’s a program we will probably do again in winter, in conjunction with the holidays.”
