Downtown Alliance Unveils Three New Works of Art by Richard Pasquarelli

The Alliance for Downtown New York is installing three new pieces by New York City native Richard Pasquarelli as part of the organization’s successful Re:Construction public art program that turns construction sites into urban canvases, the first of which was unveiled this week.

“Now Lower Manhattan’s 300,000 workers, 55,000 residents and six million annual visitors can enjoy the fantastic work of Richard Pasquarelli as part of our program to recast construction sites as canvases for innovative public art and architecture,” said Elizabeth H. Berger, President of the Downtown Alliance. “Think of Re:Construction as an intervention to create a cheerful and welcoming environment in the midst of an urban renewal. We’re so pleased to have Richard onboard.”

Re:Construction is a public art program produced by the Downtown Alliance and funded by a $1.5 million grant from the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation. Engaging, thoughtful and whimsical, the temporary artworks are creating colorful landmarks and brightened streetscapes as they help mitigate the impact of Downtown’s numerous building projects. The program began in 2007 and has produced 16 pieces, seven of which are up for viewing. BravinLee programs consulted on the three new installments for the Downtown Alliance.

“The project’s three masterful designs create an on-street gallery that instantly brightens the area while construction to revitalize the neighborhood is underway,” said New York City Department of Transportation Commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan. “The temporary artwork instantly elevates these spaces, making them more livable, welcoming places for residents, workers and visitors.”

“By placing artworks all over construction sites in Lower Manhattan, the Downtown Alliance is helping create a more beautiful, colorful and open streetscape, while introducing a broader audience to contemporary art in an original and accessible way,” Pasquarelli said. “I am honored to be part of this valuable endeavor and have enjoyed the challenge of creating site-specific works on such a grand scale. It’s exciting for me that my work can be part of the rebuilding and revitalization of the area.”

By early September, Pasquarelli’s artistry will be on full display to beautify three construction sites south of Chambers Street. The first piece that was installed this past weekend is called “Restore the View.” The work is at the site of CUNY’s Fiterman Hall project at Barclay Street, between West Broadway and Greenwich Street and between Barclay Street and Park Place.

The other two works are: “Secret Gardens,” which will be installed at the Chambers Street road construction project, from West Street to West Broadway; and, “Hours of the Day,” which will be installed in the “piazza” at the W Hotel at 123 Washington Street at Albany Street. Pieces will come down once construction projects are finished.

You can view images of “Restore the View” at the Downtown Alliance’s Flickr page at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/downtownny/sets/72157624710048483/ or watch a video about the project at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1md12D4vNew&feature=email.

“These additional installments by Richard Pasquarelli are worthy additions to the success of the Re:Construction program,” said Lower Manhattan Development Corporation President David Emil. “We’re proud to fund these exhibitions and look forward to our continued partnership with the Downtown Alliance to ease the negative impacts of Downtown’s rebuilding projects.”

"BMCC is not only a center of academic excellence, but also a powerful driver of workforce development and economic growth in New York City,” said Antonio Pérez, President of CUNY’s Borough of Manhattan Community College. “We have forged important links with our neighbors in Lower Manhattan, and supported the revitalization of downtown. We are especially heartened now by the message of hope and innovation presented through works made possible by the Alliance for Downtown New York. Those art projects highlight major construction sites including our own Fiterman Hall, which was destroyed on 9/11 and is rising, floor by floor, as a symbol of rebirth.”

Pasquarelli is a 41-year-old Bronxville-born artist whose paintings have been shown at The Miami Art Museum, The Bronx Museum of the Arts, The Chelsea Museum, Jersey City Museum and the Islip Art Museum. His work was recently acquired by the National September 11 Memorial Museum.

He has exhibited in galleries in New York, Norway, Paris, Madrid, and Los Angeles, and has work in many corporate, public and private collections throughout the world, including the Library of Congress, Bayerische Landesbank, General Dynamics Inc., the Zabludowicz Collection, MacAndrews and Forbes Holdings, Progressive Insurance, and Misumi Inc., to name a few. Mr. Pasquarelli is preparing a solo exhibition to be shown in early 2011 at Salomon Contemporary in New York.

“As a painter, my work has a psychological intimacy, and work of this scale, for such a broad audience, posed a new challenge for me,” Pasquarelli said. “Unlike a painting, which is, in a sense, self contained, these works are part of their environment. My work tends to have an element of mystery and ambiguity that leaves it open to many interpretations and I hope that passersby will each have their own individual response to these works.”

For more information on all Re:Construction projects, including high resolution photos of installed projects, visit www.downtownny.com/reconstruction. The other Re:Con installations (existing ones are asterisked) are:
99 Church Street: Walking Men 99*
56 Leonard Street: Rendering Leonard*
Hudson River Park: Botanizing the Asphalt*
50 Trinity Place: Poster Project at 50 Trinity*
99 Washington Street: Flying Animals*
East River Waterfront Esplanade, South Street: Fence Embroidery with Embellishment*
Titanic Park, Fulton and Pearl streets: Water Movements
West Thames Park, Battery Park City: It Takes Time to Turn a Space Around
The Fulton Transit Center, John Street at Broadway: Best Pedestrian Route
Fulton Street reconstruction site, between Broadway and Nassau: Fulton Fence
Fulton Transit Center, Broadway between Ann and John streets: Concrete Jungle
Goldman Sachs headquarters, 200 West Street: Untitled
AIG building, 175 Water Street
Street reconstruction site at Houston and Broadway: Houston Fence
Louise Nevelson Plaza, Maiden Lane and William Street: Rainbow Conversation
“Re:Construction is the best kind of public-private partnership, an ongoing opportunity for government, artists, curators, property owners and business people to work together to make something beautiful,” Berger said. “It’s a win-win for everyone.”