New Re:Construction Installation Comes to Historic Chase Manhattan Plaza
While the renowned Chase Manhattan Plaza undergoes a facelift this year, the Downtown Alliance’s latest Re:Constuction project can now be viewed around the entire historic plaza. This new installation, Around the Corner by artist Greg Lamarche, is located along the perimeter of One Chase Manhattan Bank.
“Now residents, workers and visitors around Chase Manhattan Plaza can enjoy Greg Lamarche’s wonderful new addition to our program recasting construction sites as canvases for innovative public art and architecture,” said Elizabeth H. Berger, President of the Downtown Alliance. “Re:Construction is an opportunity for government, artists, curators, property owners and business people to work together to make something beautiful. It’s a win-win for everyone.”
Inspired by the dynamism of his native New York City and its culture, Greg Lamarche’s collages combine the city’s relentless rhythm and a dynamic use of color and strong geometric forms that interpret the power, elegance and rebelliousness of urban creativity. This installation is on Pine, Nassau, and Williams streets and the best views of the project can be seen on Pine and Nassau streets. Lisa Shimamura of Colab Projects served as curator and consultant for this newest installation.
“Shapes inspired by block letters are repeated to form a complex graphic skyline of color,” Lamarche said of Around the Corner. “The three dimensional aspect causes the viewer at first to see the overall design as receding into the background. At closer examination the image also moves forward and projects into the viewer’s space. This back and forth tension simultaneously creates a feeling of invitation and sense of being overwhelmed.”
Born and raised in New York, Greg Lamarche created his first collages in the sixth grade when he used fireworks wrappers found in his schoolyard. Using found materials and commercially printed papers from his vast collection of vintage printed matter, each of Lamarche's unique works are comprised of precisely hand-cut papers. These collages are also utilized to create large scaled installations and murals, each represents an interplay of the directness of graphic design and the aesthetics of fine art.
Funded by a grant from the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation, Re:Construction is a public art program produced by the Downtown Alliance. 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 now 33 installations, including Around the Corner. Approximately half of these pieces are still up for viewing.
Other Re:Construction projects – which you can learn more about by clicking here – have been installed at:
- 24 John Street: Drift*
- 50 West Street: Life, Actually*
- 99 Church Street: Walking Men 99*
- 99 Washington Street: Flying Animals*
- Broadway and John Street: Corbin Building Architectural Rendering*
- Canal and Varick Streets, LentSpace: half awake, half asleep*
- Chambers Street: Secret Gardens*
- Fiterman Hall: Restore the View*
- Fulton and Pearl Streets: Water Movements*
- Hudson River Park: Botanizing on the Asphalt*
- Hudson Street between Franklin Street and Ericsson Place: Star Sun Burst*
- Liberty and Church Streets: Men at Work*
- Nassau and Fulton Streets: Sour Gum Tree: Seasonal Glory*
- Nassau and Fulton Streets: The Greatest City on Earth*
- Warren Street: Walks of Life*
- 180 Broadway: Mirage Canyon
- 50 Trinity Place: Poster Project at 50 Trinity
- 55 Liberty Street: Monk Parakeets with Mourning Doves and Red Wings
- 56 Leonard Street: Rendering Leonard
- AIG building, 175 Water Street: Green Gate, Summer
- East River Waterfront Esplanade, South Street: Fence Embroidery with Embellishment
- Fulton Street reconstruction site, between Broadway and Nassau: Fulton Fence
- Fulton Street Transit Center, Broadway between Ann and John streets: Concrete Jungle
- Fulton Street Transit Center, John Street at Broadway: Best Pedestrian Route
- Goldman Sachs headquarters, 200 West Street: Untitled
- Grand and Lafayette streets: Downtown Dogs
- Hubert Street between Washington and Hudson Street: Aquatic Dream
- Louise Nevelson Plaza, Maiden Lane and William Street: Rainbow Conversation
- Street reconstruction site at Houston and Broadway: Houston Fence
- Titanic Park, Fulton and Pearl streets: Water Movements
- W Hotel New York – Downtown: Hours of the Day
- West Thames Park, Battery Park City: It Takes Time to Turn a Space Around
* Currently up for viewing